Dr. Russell G. Congalton has been named Editor-in-Chief of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (PE&RS), the journal of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). Dr. Congalton replaces Dr. James Merchant, who has performed outstanding service in that role since 2001. The transition of responsibilities begins January 15th with receipt of new manuscripts for review.

Dr. Congalton is professor of Remote Sensing and GIS, Department of Natural Resources, at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire.  Dr. Congalton received a BS in Natural Resource Management from Cook College, Rutgers University, and both an MS and PhD in Remote Sensing and Forest Biometrics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His career includes the position of Assistant Professor of Remote Sensing (1985-1991), Department of Forestry & Resource Management at the University of California, Berkeley; Assistant Professor (1991-1994), Associate Professor (1994-1999) and full Professor (1999-present) of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire; and post-doctorate research associate (1984-1985) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Environmental Lab.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Congalton was chosen to join our outstanding PE&RS editorial staff,” said ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker in announcing the appointment. “Congalton follows an excellent role model in Dr. Merchant, and Russ’ experience and professional credentials will enable us to continue to serve the Society readership, as well as the broader geospatial community of PE&RS subscribers, with the highest journalistic standards without interruption.”

A recent Past President of ASPRS (2004), Dr. Congalton has been a member of ASPRS since his student days in 1979. Since then, he has been very active in the Society, serving as a Region officer in the Northern California and New England Regions; on the ASPRS Board of Directors as the first GIS Division Director and National Officer, as well as for ten years as the ASPRS National Workshop Coordinator. Dr. Congalton was named a Fellow of ASPRS in 2007.

In addition to service to the Society, Dr. Congalton has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, proceedings papers, book chapters, monographs and books. His work has appeared in IEEE Transactions of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Remote Sensing of Environment, Geocarto International, Journal of Forestry, Journal of Science Education and Technology, International Journal of Remote Sensing, Forest Ecology and Management, and Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. He is a contributing author to the upcoming ASPRS Manual of GIS, and with Kass Green he is the author of Assessing the Accuracy of Remotely Sensed Data: Principles and Practices.

Finally, Dr. Congalton has received many awards over his career, notably four ASPRS Presidential Citations for Meritorious Service (1987, 1989, 1990, 1992); the 1994 ASPRS John I. Davidson Award for Practical Papers (2nd Prize); the 1996 ESRI Award for Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information Systems (3rd Prize) awarded by ASPRS; the 1998 ASPRS John I. Davidson Award for Practical Papers (1st Prize); the 1998 ESRI Award for Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information Systems (2nd Prize) awarded by ASPRS; the 2000 ASPRS Outstanding Service Award; the 2001 Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service presented by the Society of American Foresters; and, the 2005 Graduate Faculty Mentor Recognition of Service Award at the University of New Hampshire as an outstanding faculty mentor of graduate students. This was the inaugural award.

Dr. Congalton can be contacted at:
Dr. Russell G. Congalton
4 Ryan Way
Durham, NH 03824
Tel.: (603) 862-4644
Fax: (603) 862-4976
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About ASPRS
Founded in 1934, ASPRS is an international professional organization of 6,000 geospatial data professionals. ASPRS is devoted to advancing knowledge and improving understanding of the mapping sciences to promote responsible application of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems and supporting technologies.