Vincent V. Salomonson is a Research Professor with joint appointments in the Departments of Atmospheric Sciences and Geography at the University of Utah and Senior Scientist (Emeritus) with NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Prior to coming to the University of Utah in 2005 he was a NASA/Goddard Senior Scientist from 2001-2005. From 1990 to 2000 he was the Director of the Earth Sciences Directorate at the Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA. In that capacity he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities of approximately 300 civil service scientists and engineers in the Directorate who are actively involved in research of the Earth-Atmosphere system using advanced technology along with over 700 supporting contractors, students and visiting faculty. He served at Goddard as the Deputy Director for Earth Sciences in the Space and Earth Sciences Directorate (1988-1990), Chief of the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics (1980-1988), Project Scientist for Landsat 4 and 5 (1977-1989), the Head of the Hydrospheric Sciences Branch (1973-1980), and as a research meteorologist (1968-1973). He also served from 1988 to 2009 as the Science Team Leader for a team of up to 90 scientists performing research in the study of land, ocean, and atmosphere processes using data from the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) facility instrument called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS). Prior to coming to Goddard, he spent three years as Weather Officer in the United States Air Force (1959-1962). His academic training includes a B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from Colorado State University (1959), a B.S. degree in Meteorology from the University of Utah (1960), an M.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University (1964), and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University (1968). His publication record shows over 130 publications in scientific journals, conference proceedings, and NASA reports.
Dr. Salomonson has received numerous recognitions for his work and leadership. These include the Goddard Exceptional Performance Award (1975) for his work as Chairman of the NASA Sub-discipline Panel for Water Resources, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1976) for outstanding contributions in the practical applications of remote sensing data in the water resources field, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1983) in recognition of his extensive contributions to land remote sensing as Landsat 4 and 5 Project Scientist, the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey William T. Pecora Award (1993) for his overall contributions to satellite remote sensing, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (1996) for his leadership of the Goddard Earth Sciences Directorate. In 1993 he received the rank of Meritorious Executive and in 1998 the rank of Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service. In 2002 he was named a Goddard Senior Fellow and received the William Nordberg Memorial Award from the Goddard Space Flight Center. He was also made an “Honor Alumnus” of Colorado State University in 1987.
Dr. Salomonson has served the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRS-S) in several leadership capacities including being a member of the Executive Administrative Committee ("Ad-Com") for several years and the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) where he was President of that society in 1991/1992. He was elected a Fellow of the ASPRS in 1994 and a life-time Honorary Member in 2013. In 1999 he was made a Fellow of the IEEE. He is also a member of the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union.