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Buck Sharpton - Professor of Geophysics - Virgil L. (Buck) Sharpton is Director of the Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) and the International Observatory of the North (ION) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Dr. Sharpton received his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Brown University in November 1984. He joined the faculty at the UAF in 1998 with a joint appointment between the Geophysical Institute and the Department of Geology and Geophysics. In 2001, he was awarded one of six presidential professorships across the UA system and now holds the title of President's Professor of Remote Sensing. Prior to joining UAF, Dr. Sharpton was Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, affiliated with the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, where he served for 14 years. Dr. Sharpton's research experience includes field validation studies; synthetic aperture radar, multispectral and other remotely acquired image data sets; image processing; potential field analysis; ground penetrating radar and reflection seismic surveys; petrographic microscopy (including u-stage and refractive index measurements); instrumental geochemical techniques. His past interest has been focused on planetary topics, particularly gaining an improved understanding of the role that large-body impact has played in shaping Earth's geological and biological history. Since coming to Alaska, however, Dr. Sharpton has broadened his interests to include subjects that are of more direct, short-term benefit to the public. He currently works closely with several government agencies in developing new uses for satellite remote sensing. Dr. Sharpton sits on a variety of NASA Review Panels as well as state and local advisory boards. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Meteoritical Society, and the Geological Society of America. In addition to being awarded the President's Professorship, his honors include the Geophysical Institute Director's Faculty Achievement Award (2001), The Government of Canada Group Achievement Award (1992), The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Group Achievement Award (1992), The William F. Marlar Scholarship (1981-1984), and The Tulip City Rock and Mineral Club Award (1979).