David Roy, Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences and Director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations (CGCEO) at Michigan State University, has been named Science Team Leader of the newly formed 2026-2030 Landsat Science Team.
Professor Roy has previously served on the two prior five-year Landsat Science Teams and is a highly cited researcher, ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide. His appointment reflects his long-standing contributions to satellite remote sensing and the scientific stewardship of the Landsat program.
The Landsat Science Team brings together experts from universities, private industry, and federal and international agencies to help the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA ensure that the Landsat program continues to deliver trusted and publicly available data. Landsat data are used to monitor and manage terrestrial and near shore aquatic resources for environmental and economic quality, human well-being, national security, and scientific discovery. Eight successive Landsat satellite missions have provided the world’s longest, 50+ year, satellite record that provided $25.6 billion economic benefits in 2023.
Professor Roy is funded as a member of the new Landsat science team with a focus on ensuring the scientific integrity of the Landsat satellite record and consistency with the next planned mission that is scheduled for launch in the early 2030s. He commented that he is particularly pleased to be named as a Landsat Science team member in an era of significant changes and opportunities with respect to public-commercial partnerships and advances for information extraction using artificial intelligence techniques.