David A. Landgrebe: Evolution of Digital Remote Sensing and Landsat

Abstract

David Landgrebe, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the Purdue University Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing (LARS), was a primary innovator in the field of digital image analysis and remote sensing of the environment. He and his LARS colleagues, along with a selected few other researchers at institutions including the University of Michigan, University of California Berkley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and NASA Johnson Space Center, defined and developed remote sensing technology to monitor the Earth's terrestrial environment. This research led to the Landsat program, which has continued to monitor the Earth's land areas for a half century. These technologies have defined new fields of scientific query in digital image analysis, biophysical remote sensing, as well as remote sensing science and applications. Dr. Landgrebe's contributions to these research areas were substantial and profound. Understanding the early evolution of work is critical to understanding how this technology is still advancing today. The authors hope that current and future students of these fields will benefit from understanding how this all began.