NASA Sensors and Instrumentation for Space-based Remote Sensing Applications
ABSTRACT :
NASA is at fore-front in developing lidar technologies and unique active/passive remote sensing capabilities towards space-based observations for understanding the complexities and interactions among Earth system components. The world is facing significant environmental challenges and a robust, integrated, and flexible system of observations and models are needed for understanding the short-and long term impact on the Earth system. A fundamental challenge for the coming decade is to ensure that space-based observations, analyses, better interpretive understanding, enhanced predictive models, broadened international community participation, and improved means for information assimilation and disseminations are well coordinated to realize the full economic, societal, and security benefit of Earth science.
This presentation will provide an overview of enabling lidar technologies and techniques from ground and space towards NASA's future vision for Earth science missions for global observations, and the challenges associated in applying them for societal benefit.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Dr. Upendra N. Singh, NASA Technical Fellow for Sensors and Instrumentation at the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, NASA Langley Research Center is an internationally recognized atmospheric scientist and laser remote sensing expert with 30 years' experience. He is currently serving as Principal Investigator of two Earth Science Technology Office funded programs to enable space-based measurements of Carbon Dioxide and 3-D Winds. Dr. Singh earned his Ph.D. degree in Physics from University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France in 1985. He is graduate and a Senior Executive Fellow (2002) of the JFK School of Government, Harvard University. In 2002, he was selected into the NASA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (SESCDP) and received his SES certification from US Office of Personal Management (OPM) in 2005. He is an elected fellow of the SPIE, and the Optical Society of America (OSA), and a Senior Member of IEEE.
Dr. Singh has received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (2016) for "Outstanding leadership in resolving laser/lidar technical challenges and forging international space agency alliances." Earlier, he was awarded NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (2001) for "Significant contributions and distinguished, internationally recognized, scientific and technical leadership of NASA programs in the area of active and passive remote sensing of the atmosphere." He was awarded NASA Langley's H.J.E. Reid Award (2005) for co-authoring an outstanding paper and NASA's Exceptional Service Medal (2006) for "Exceptional service in envisioning, formulating, and implementing an integrated NASA laser risk-reduction strategy." He also received NASA Group Achievement Award (1998) for "exceptional research and technology innovations, and team dedication in completing a pioneering two-micrometer transmitter for NASA New Millennium Program's coherent wind lidar instrument" and NASA Group Achievement Award (2010) for "Outstanding contributions of the 2-micron Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar Development Team for enabling technology needed for space based global measurements of winds."
Dr. Singh has brought together space agency leaders and policy makers to discuss and describe their plans, priorities and challenges for their space missions; and to help NASA reduce costs through the discovery of natural collaborations that use each agency's strengths to realize nationally mandated priority Earth observation missions to collect the observational data for the societal benefit of all the nations.