Generous Imaging Donation

The remote sensing system, formerly called the Texaco Energy and Environmental Multispectral Spectrometer (TEEMS), was generously donated by the corporation. Previously, the device was under development for oil exploration and environmental monitoring. Following the merger of Chevron and Texaco ChevronTexaco discontinued all research in the discipline of collecting airborne remote sensing data through this equipment. The company therefore wanted to sell it to a third party or donate the imaging system to a university.

Texas A&M University was high in the list of academic institutions considered for this prestigious donation, due in part to the fact that Dr. Degenhardt worked as a Laboratory Technologist for Texaco Exploration and Production Technology Division (EPTD) from 1988 to 1997. He recently explained his role in acquirement of this radar system, how the device will be used, and how the overall academic community within the College of Geosciences – and Texas A&M as a whole - will benefit from the resulting research.

1. How did the donation of this Radar and Hyperspectral Imaging System come to be?

Dr. Degenhardt: In September 2005, I was contacted by Mr. Steve Robinson of ChevronTexaco inviting Texas A&M to submit a proposal for consideration of such a donation. I responded to their request and submitted a proposal outlining the benefits of donating the equipment to the university. Texas A&M was awarded the donation and I agreed to facilitate receipt of the assets based on my previous employment at Texaco and my association with Dr. Alfredo Prelat, the developer and head of up the remote sensing research group that operated the system for Texaco. Prior to the Chevron-Texaco merger, the system was operated for several years by Alto Technologies in Houston, which was also headed by Dr. Prelat.

2. What plans does the College of Geosciences have for this remote sensing System? For what purposes will it be used?

teems-5-airborne-equip-rack.jpg Dr. Degenhardt: The immediate plans for the system involve bringing the X-band radar sensor back into operation in time for the summer hurricane season. The Texas General Land Office (TGLO) has expressed willingness to fly the equipment for the purpose of doing oil spill monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico and hurricane related coastal and environmental monitoring along the Texas Gulf Coast. In the long-term, the hyperspectral (optical) sensor and radar will be used for a wide variety of applications, including geologic and landform mapping, thermal inertia studies, land subsidence monitoring, emergency response (wildfire detection, oil spills, toxic materials monitoring), natural disasters, agricultural/forestry applications (i.e., disease detection and soil replenishment), oil and gas exploration, homeland and border security, and certain defense applications. Eventually, Texas A&M would like to develop a regional institute or center for spatial sciences or remote sensing. There has been federal congressional interest expressed for such an endeavor.

3. What is the general use of such a device? Why did the College of Geosciences want to acquire it?

Dr. Degenhardt: Each type of remote sensing system has specific applications. For example, aerial or satellite photography, with high spatial resolution, provides for visual discrimination. Alternatively, radar (an active system) provides its own microwave ‘illumination,’ with some systems having the capability to effectively penetrate clouds. This makes radar technology useful for gathering information at night or when weather is not optimal. Multispectral remote sensing is the collection of several bands of electromagnetic energy. Most commercial satellite imagery is multi-spectral and often provides sufficient spectral information for the basic characterization of land cover materials.

Hyperspectral imaging is the collection of data from as many as 200 wavelength bands. These are usually characterized by narrow bandwidths (10 nm or less), offering very high spectral resolution. Only the continuum of narrow-band readings from a hyperspectral scanner provides the spectral detail necessary to precisely identify features on the Earth’s surface.

4. How are you involved in the current use / acquisition of this device?

Dr. Degenhardt: I was directly responsible for acquiring the system from ChevronTexaco and headed up the effort to develop the legal documentation necessary for the university to accept a donation of such value. The hard assets have been appraised by ChevronTexaco at approximately 0,000.00 and the value including development costs is in excess of million. I am currently heading up the effort to integrate the system into the university.

Scientists across Texas A&M University (and its partner institutions within the TAMU System) employ data acquired from air-borne and space-borne instrumentation to address basic questions about physical and biological environments. Faculty members in nearly every college within the University are participating in research that relies in one way or another on remotely sensed information. This research spans biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere environments at spatial scales ranging from microbial to global. Because the study of physical and biological systems hinges on data that represent their full heterogeneity, use of remotely sensed information is fundamentally necessary to characterize heterogeneous conditions over both time and space.

5. How do you believe the College of Geosciences will benefit from the acquisition of this device?

Dr. Degenhardt: It is my belief that the College of Geosciences can effectively use such a system to carry on valuable research in a variety of disciplines and to qualify the university for more collaborative research projects that are funded through the federal and state agencies. In addition to proving research and technical capabilities, universities are now routinely required to demonstrate significant collaborative associations in order to qualify for major funding awards.

Texas A&M University, in addition to being a leading research institution, is primarily an academic institution. As such, there are a number of important benefits that result from the donation of useful scientific equipment by the university. Foremost, the equipment will have a broad impact on the scientific community over time. In contrast to a private company, where technological and scientific expertise tends to be narrowly focused, the university offers a much wider variety of users and applications across a spectrum of scientific and technology-based disciplines represented by the many colleges and departments as well as a number of programs at Texas A&M University System institutions.

In terms of outreach, Texas A&M is unique not only in being a top research university but also in having experiment stations and extension services, which help disseminate research and its applications to other researchers and to the public. These additional components help Texas A&M take its research and use it to make lives better.