SC&E Professor Oscar Huh is the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Service Award for the Advancement of Spatial Analysis in Louisiana, presented at the 21st Louisiana Remote Sensing & GIS Workshop at the University of New Orleans on April 20. Huh, professor emeritus in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences and the Coastal Studies Institute, is the founder of the Earth Scan Laboratory (ESL), one of the premier remote sensing laboratories in the United States, located at LSU.

The award is conferred by a committee of peers in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS), environmental remote sensing, and mapping professions in Louisiana representing federal, state, local, academic, and private institutions as well as professional societies. The award goes to a colleague who has made extraordinary contributions to the application of mapping sciences specifically in Louisiana.

The Earth Scan Laboratory that Huh founded is the nation’s first satellite earth station established wholly by state funding. It supports research, education, and public service and emergency response with near real time or archival remotely sensed satellite and aircraft data. Imagery acquired by ESL is permanent—creating a growing record of environmental data for education, research, economic, and forensic applications, and is invaluable for decision making that involves environmental conditions, particularly in Louisiana.

Huh has distinguished himself as an international scientist in remote sensing through peer-reviewed papers and books, NASA Earth Observing System scientist recognition, and funding of numerous National Science Foundation grants. His leadership in using satellite imagery to forecast hurricane pathways is a valuable service to Louisiana and neighboring states, and ESL maintains round-the-clock service to the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness when hurricanes threaten the state. Huh currently remains in an advisory role at ESL, working with outreach programs and state agencies in charge of emergency planning.