IN MEMORIAM

Robert N. Colwell

Professor of Forestry, Emeritus

Berkeley

1918 – 2005

Robert N. Colwell, internationally renowned remote sensing scientist, former associate director of the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, talented teacher, recipient of the Berkeley Citation, and patriot, died on April 14, 2005 at the John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California. His legacy of technological advances in the field of remote sensing of earth resources, and service to the university and to the nation, marks a distinguished career.

 

Colwell was born on February 4, 1918 in Star, Idaho. His family moved to Templeton, California in 1931, then to Oakland, where he graduated from Castlemont High School in 1934. He received his B.S. degree in forestry from the Berkeley campus in 1938, and the Ph.D. degree in plant physiology at UC Davis in 1942. He was one of the first plant scientists to explore the use of radioactive tracers in tree breeding studies. However, World War II interrupted his work. Colwell enlisted as ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in early 1942, and held the rank of lieutenant when he was released to inactive duty in 1947.

 

Initially assigned duties in aerial photograph interpretation, Colwell served as member of an intelligence unit throughout the Guadalcanal campaign against Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands. During 1943 and 1944 he served as chief instructor for the Navy’s training program in photographic interpretation, supervising and participating in the training of more than 1,000 interpreters. In 1945 he served as chief of photographic intelligence for the Okinawa campaign, directing a unit of over 100 photographic interpreters and receiving a battlefield award of the Bronze Star. Among his technical innovations during this period was the development of the first dichotomous key for identifying tropical vegetation and a method for measuring water depth based on data from aerial photographs. The latter was crucial to identifying suitable landing beaches at Okinawa. For the former he received the Presidential Unit Citation and a personal letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy.

 

Following the war, Colwell was appointed in 1947 to the faculty at Berkeley as assistant professor of forestry in the Department of Forestry and as assistant silviculturalist in the UC Agricultural Experiment Station. Initially, he was assigned to teaching and research in seeding and planting for forest restoration but also to develop a new program in aerial photograph interpretation in forestry, drawing on the technical expertise he had developed during his Navy service. The latter soon became the focus of his teaching, research, and professional activity through the time of his retirement in 1983 and for many years afterward. His courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels though primarily designed for forestry students were popular and attracted interest from students in many other fields as well.

 

His students, colleagues, and professional peers alike regarded Colwell as an exceptional teacher and lecturer in formats ranging from the classroom to symposia to congressional briefings to outdoor field environments. His fast moving, crisp, clear, enthusiastic presentations were effectively illustrated with visual aids and rich in content. Colwell had a rare knack for getting students to perform up to their full potential. This was particularly evident at the graduate level; many students, inspired by Colwell’s teaching, found their intellectual and professional home in the field of remote sensing and were highly successful in their subsequent careers. Colwell was the consummate mentor who was concerned with the welfare of his students and research associates.

 

Colwell’s life was marked by strong loyalty to the University and willingness to serve in any role he was asked to undertake. For many years he was director of summer session forestry courses given at Meadow Valley, California. Students awarded him the appellation “Bullet Bob” for his capacity to lead field classes up steep mountain slopes at full speed. He served as an undergraduate advisor, chair of numerous thesis and dissertation committees in forestry at Berkeley and other universities that sought his assistance. He served as associate director of the Space Sciences Laboratory from 1969 to 1983 with responsibility for coordinating a six-campus remote sensing research program supported by NASA, USDA, and other federal agencies. He served for many years as a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on ROTC, including five years as chairman, during which he had a primary role in working out acceptable solutions to the very difficult problems surrounding the ROTC program. He was one of two faculty members requested by President David Saxon to make presentations to the California Legislature on the research role of faculty. He approached every assignment with the same philosophy: a desire to contribute to the full extent of his abilities.

 

Because of Colwell’s unparalleled expertise in image interpretation gained during World War II and because of his classic research on the theories and techniques of multispectral remote sensing, NASA named him as co-investigator for the first dedicated space multiband photographic experiment onboard Apollo IX.  He was frequently invited to Congressional and White House hearings on the development of the first earth remote sensing satellite (Landsat). His research in the 1960s on reflectance and multispectral reconnaissance were the primary basis for selecting the type of sensors and the spectral bands implemented in Landsat. In 1969-70 he developed the Forestry Remote Sensing Laboratory (FRSL) at the Space Sciences Laboratory at Berkeley. NASA named FRSL as a Center of Excellence for agriculture and forestry.  Berkeley, along with Purdue University and the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, was among the first research centers working on the use of satellite imagery for forest and agricultural research. The research focus of FRSL was on image enhancement and interpretation, automatic image classification, radiance properties of objects, operational feasibility, and training. In 1977 Colwell received the Pecora Award cosponsored by NASA and the Department of the Interior.  He received this highest award in the remote sensing community in large part for his leadership leading to the development of Landsat.

 

Colwell’s extensive professional activities include service to the American Society of Photogrammetry as the editor-in-chief for the Manual of Remote Sensing and the Manual of Photographic Interpretation. He was responsible for creating the International Society for Photogrammetry. His education efforts included courses on the use of remote sensing in developing countries including Zaire, Ecuador and Iran. He served as consultant on resource development to the government of Argentina and was the director of Project Radar Amazon which was the largest resource survey ever undertaken in the tropics. His expertise was in great demand and he made presentations on the use of remote sensing in forestry and agriculture to the FAO, NATO, USAID, the World Bank, and the Office of Management and Budget, to name a few.

 

A person of prodigious physical and intellectual energy, Colwell conducted a large, productive, diverse program of research and teaching that yielded over 300 publications. At the same time, but separately, Colwell continued service in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War with major responsibilities for the Navy’s photographic intelligence program and took other short-term assignments after returning to the University. Colwell advanced through the officer ranks and was promoted to rear admiral in 1973. From 1973 to 1977 he had worldwide responsibilities for the Navy’s photographic intelligence activities. In 1972 he received the Congressional Commendation Award for his service to the nation and in 1977 he was awarded the Legion of Merit by President Jimmy Carter.

 

After retiring Colwell continued on the board of directors of the Earth Satellite Corporation, which he had helped form, and remained active as a consultant, member of professional societies, and in public service. He was an avid trout fisherman and deacon of the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church.

 

Colwell is survived by four children: Arthur Colwell of Lakeport, Nancy Coronado of Benicia, John Colwell of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Robert Colwell of Vienna, Virginia. Betty, his wife of 57 years, passed away in 2000.

 

 

Gregory S. Biging

Dennis E. Teeguarden