Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM and SCHNEEBAUM AWARD CERMONY
Monday, May 13, 2013 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
James Irons
"The Landsat Data Continuity Mission - A Center Triumph"
ABSTRACT -- The lift off of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base on February 11, 2012 was the culmination of 14 years of effort at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Through out this extended period scientists, engineers, business managers, and Center managers worked as a team to ensure the success of the mission along with an interagency partner, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of Interior. The successful launch of the LDCM demonstrates that we are capable of working across professional cultures, across Directorates, and across Agencies to implement a mission of vital importance to our nation and the world. Many lessons were learned as we together overcame our share of programmatic and technical challenges. The Schneebaum Memorial Award Colloquium will review the development of the LDCM at Goddard, discuss what we learned in the process, and describe the mission and its importance to Earth Science.
SPEAKER -- Dr. James R. Irons is the Associate Deputy Director for Atmospheres, Earth Sciences Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) a position he has held since 2007. He is also the NASA Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) Project Scientist and in that capacity ensures that the specification, design, and implementation of the mission meet science requirements. Prior to 2007, Dr. Irons conducted research for 28 years as a physical scientist in the Biospheric Sciences Branch, NASA GSFC where he served as the Landsat 7 Deputy Project Scientist beginning in 1992. During those years Dr. Irons studied land cover change using Landsat data, investigated the bidirectional reflectance of bare soils and vegetation canopies, and acted as the instrument scientist for an airborne sensor that collected hyperspectral, multi-angle images for multiple field campaigns. He is the author or co-author of four book chapters and over 35 refereed journal articles.
Dr. Irons received his B.Sc. degree in environmental resources management in 1976 and the M.Sc. degree in agronomy in 1979 from the Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. degree in agronomy in 1993 from the University of Maryland College Park. He has received several honor awards including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2009.
Dr. Irons lives in Columbia, Maryland with his wife Karen. They are proud of their sons Forrest, a paramedic for the Baltimore City Fire Department, and Scott, a Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.