Dr. Compton J. Tucker, a research scientist in the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., has been awarded the 1997 William T. Pecora Award for his achievements in the field of remote sensing. This award is sponsored jointly by the Department of Interior and NASA. Dr. Tucker will accept the award at the Landsat 25th anniversary celebration at the National Air and Space Museum on Dec. 4, 1997.

The William T. Pecora award is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals or groups toward the understanding of the Earth by means of remote sensing. This award was established in 1974 to honor the memory of Dr. William T. Pecora, a former director of the U.S. Geological Survey, and Under Secretary, Department of the Interior. Any individual or group working in the field of remote sensing of the Earth is eligible to receive this award, which recognizes contributions leading to successful practical applications of remote sensing.

Tucker is honored specifically for his outstanding leadership in the use of remotely sensed data for ecology, and in recognition of his pioneering applications of meteorological satellite data to study global vegetation dynamics. He has provided sustained, innovative leadership in the study of the Earth’s vegetation from space, and his research has focused international attention on global environmental change phenomena.

The scientist’s early work led to the development of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the break-through application of data from a sensor designed for meteorological applications, the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which monitors global land-surface vegetation. His work has led to important practical applications within the U.S., with international organizations, and in the developing world.

Tucker began his career at Goddard in 1975 as a National Research Council post-doctoral fellow and subsequently joined NASA in 1977. He has specialized in using satellite observations to study the Earth's vegetation, including questions about the carbon cycle, tropical deforestation and desertification. Some areas of recent and continuing work include quantifying expansion and contraction of the major deserts of Africa and Asia, determining tropical deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Amazon Forest of South America, and investigating increased length of the growing season at higher northern latitudes.

Tucker received the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1986 for his work using satellite data to study Earth's vegetation. In 1988, he was appointed as a NASA Goddard Senior Fellow. In 1992, Tucker was awarded the Henry Shaw medal from the Missouri Botanical Gardens for his contribution to the plant sciences using satellite data. In 1993, he was awarded the National Air and Space Museum Trophy for current achievement. In 1996, he was awarded the William Nordberg Award for Earth Science. He is the author of more than 80 scientific and technical publications.

In addition to his duties in the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics, Tucker is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.

Born in Carlsbad, N.M., Tucker attended Edison and Roosevelt Elementary Schools, and Eisenhower Jr. High School. He graduated from Carlsbad Senior High school in 1964. He then attended Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., where he received a bachelor of science degree in biology in 1969, a masters of science in 1973 and a Ph.D. in 1975; the latter two degrees from the College of Forestry.

Tucker and his wife, Donna Strahan, live in University Park, Md., and have a 18-year-old son.

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