RETIREMENTS:
Tom Lillesand, Frank Scarpace and Alan Vonderohe
Talk with Tom
Lillesand and he’ll trace a distinguished career path filled
with many mentors—the most significant of whom, he says, was his
father, head of aerial mapping for the local U.S. Department of Agriculture
office. “I helped locate control points on photos and then went
with him into the field to mark these points on the ground,” says
Lillesand. “It was during those times that I came to realize that
I wanted a career related to mapping and imagery.”
A Madison native, Lillesand earned bachelor’s
(1969), master’s (1970) and PhD (1973) degrees, all in civil and
environmental engineering, from UW-Madison. He began his academic career
at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science
and Forestry at Syracuse University, then moved to the University of
Minnesota.
In 1982, he joined the faculty at UW-Madison and
now maintains affiliations with several programs. “I returned
to UW because it was different: different in terms of quality, number
of colleagues in the mapping sciences, and faculty governance,”
says Lillesand. “Madison just offered so many more opportunities,
including returning home.”
Respected for his work in photogrammetry, remote sensing,
surveying and mapping—particularly as they relate to environmental,
transportation and commercial issues—Lillesand says he is most
proud of his positive influence on others. “I have prided myself
on being a demanding mentor and a thorough researcher—traits I
believe have rubbed off on my students,” he says.
Lillesand is co-author, with Ralph Kiefer and Jonathan
Chipman, of the textbook Remote Sensing and Image
Interpretation, a widely adopted text both nationally and internationally.
He has served on the NASA/USGS Landsat Program advisory committee and
continues advisory involvement with the American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing. In addition, he has participated in countless initiatives
to apply university expertise for the benefit of the state.
He plans to remain active as a faculty member emeritus,
a researcher and a consultant. In addition, Lillesand hopes to spend
time with his family, travel, and fish more often for muskies near his
cabin in the Minocqua area.
Although he now is renowned for his contributions
to the mapping community, Frank
Scarpace’s first exposure to remote sensing didn’t come
until he was in the midst of postdoctoral research in physics at UW-Madison,
where he earned his PhD in that field in 1971.
During his summer job in Boulder, Colorado, at the
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Scarpace worked with thermal
scanning and realized he didn’t want to spend his career conducting
research in a lab.
Eventually, he completed postdoctoral work in civil
engineering under UW-Madison Professors Ralph Kiefer and Jim Clapp.
He became an assistant scientist with what now is the Gaylord Nelson
Institute for Environmental Studies and, in 1974, joined the faculty
in CEE and IES as an assistant professor.
Early in his career, Scarpace focused mainly on remote
sensing; more recently, he has directed his research toward photogrammetry.
In particular, he develops computer algorithms to more efficiently and
correctly identify and quantify environmental resources from satellite
and aerial images. He also developed terrain-mapping software called
OrthoMapper, which he continuously updates, that has helped to teach
students the nuances of creating digital orthophotos from both current
and older aerial pictures.
A constant in his tenure on campus is Scarpace’s
love of teaching and his positive relationship with his students. He
has been the major advisor for about 25 PhD students and nearly 60 master’s
degree students.
Earlier this year, he and his wife, Peggy, bought
a home in Florida, where they will spend winters. He still advises several
students and plans to stay involved in research and product development
in his business, Image Processing Software, Inc.
In the summer before he entered college, Alan
Vonderohe worked as a land surveyor for the father of a close friend.
“I had always been good at math and science in school, so I saw
surveying as a tangible way to apply the things at which I thought I
was good,” he says. “That summer job got me hooked.”
In 1970, he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering, with specialties in photogrammetry and geodetic science,
from the University of Illinois, then became a commissioned officer
with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for three years.
He spent much of his time on ships, doing hydrographic surveys, tidal
benchmarking and nautical charting.
When he left NOAA, he returned to the University of
Illinois and earned master’s and PhD degrees before joining the
UW-Madison faculty in 1979. Vonderohe’s research projects have
ranged from analyzing and designing spatial/temporal reference frameworks,
to testing the accuracy of digital spatial data, to developing management
schemes and applications for real-time information telemetered by intelligent
vehicles, to conceptual data modeling for spatial/temporal information
systems. He also is known as the technical mastermind behind the recent
Wisconsin County Coordinate System redesign project known as “WISCRS.”
As the need arose, Vonderohe developed or taught 34
different courses on topics ranging across legal aspects of land surveying,
engineering applications of GIS, analytical photogrammetry, and geodesy.
A respected instructor who has refined his teaching
skills to suit his students’ changing needs, Vonderohe has enjoyed
sharing knowledge with students he calls excellent. “My reward
is seeing the people I’ve mentored go on to accomplish great things
in life,” he says.
In retirement, Vonderohe plans to remain active professionally
and fish for as many fish as he can find.
