Timothy W.Foresman, Ph. D.

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President International Centre for Remote Sensing Education/Earth Party

Dr. Timothy W. Foresman has been a pioneer for over thirty years in developing, teaching, and applying advanced spatial technologies of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) for international environmental protection, land management, and sustainability. His distinguished international and national science career places him in the forefront of technical and logistical issues facing the Earth resources management community. He served as the chief environmental scientist from 2000 to 2003 working for the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously working at NASA Headquarters, he led the US Digital Earth program leading to such milestones as Google Earth’s first contract in 2000. Dr. Foresman was the key government scientist to bring remote sensing and GIS technology and applications into the US Department of Defense in the 1970s and the US EPA in the 1980s. Dr. Foresman’s leadership in using technology to measure, map, monitor, model and manage the Earth’s natural and human resources is demonstrated through his active schedule of sustainability and Digital Earth workshops conducted in China, Japan, Honduras, India, New Zealand, and Africa. His scientific and technical expertise covers a wide range of topics from global water issues to endangered species, from global warming to carbon offsets, and from forest dynamics to human ecosystems. He is an acclaimed science and children’s book author who is well recognized for his public speaking skills and regular communications via columns in science and technology journals. He is the president of the International Center for Remote Sensing Education (www.icrsed.org).

While serving at the UN Environment Programme his executive charge included the Millennium Ecosystem Study, the Global International Water Assessment, the Global Environment Outlook-3, co-leading the FAO-UNEP Land Cover Classification System, chairing the Early Warning Committee for the Interagency Steering Committee for Disaster Reduction, and chairing the UN GIS Working Group. He is a founding member of the International Society of Digital Earth, in partnership with the Chinese, Japanese, Asian, European, and North American institutions. He served as co-PI and data administrator for the NSF funded Baltimore Ecosystem Study, the first long-term human ecosystems study to investigate system impacts from climate change. Dr. Foresman has three decades of experience as a scientist, professor, author with over 90 scientific publications, inventor, entrepreneur, consultant, manager, administrator, and world traveler. He has served on the faculties of the University of Maryland in the US and Keio University in Japan.

Dr. Foresman presently leads, or has led projects including the Global Hydrogen Partnership, Global Water, Risk Communications, Sustainable Development for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Urban Ecosystems Models, Earth Portal, 3-D Geobrowsers, Remote Sensing Core Curriculum, and was Director-General for the 5th International Symposium for Digital Earth (www.isde5.org). Currently, Dr. Foresman works with many agencies in China, Japan, India, Iceland, Honduras, New Zealand, and Kenya, to promote access to the scientific information needed by decision makers and citizens. His research continues towards improvements in environmental monitoring, management, and protection utilizing community-based participatory processes that target goals for sustainable development and coping strategies in the face of disasters and climate change.

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