Professor selected to receive the 2022 American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Fellow Award

MURRAY, Ky. — Dr. Haluk Cetin, a tenured full professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Murray State University, was selected to receive the 2022 American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Fellow Award.

Established in 1922, the designation of Fellow is conferred on Society members who have been active for at least ten years and who have performed exceptional service in advancing the science and use of the mapping sciences and related disciplines. It is awarded for professional excellence and for service to the Society. Awards for outstanding papers, professional achievement and service activities are determined by a committee selection; scholarships and academic awards are also determined by a committee selection but are chosen from deserving applicants.

“I am honored to have been selected to receive this prestigious award,” said Cetin. “Not only does the Fellow Award recognize the accomplishments of a faculty member at a university, but it also features into the ranking of Murray State University through the Center for Measuring University Performance (CMUP) and the Association of American Universities (AAU). It also encourages Murray State faculty to be recognized for their scholarly accomplishments.”

Dr. Cetin received his Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees from Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. He received his Ph.D. in remote sensing, an interdisciplinary program, from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1993. 

For his first remote sensing publication, Cetin received the ASPRS Cambridge Instruments Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Award in 1990. He also received the ASPRS ERDAS Award for Best Scientific Paper in Remote Sensing in 1992, co-authored with the late Donald W. Levandowski, Cetin’s Ph.D. advisor. 

Cetin has been a member of ASPRS since 1990. In 1995, Cetin accepted an assistant professor position with the Department of Geosciences at Murray State. He was also named a research associate at the Mid-America Remote Sensing Center (MARC) at the University. Cetin has been a thesis advisor of 19 Master of Science students and two honors students, an advisor for Environmental Geology and Earth Science undergraduate programs and has been the graduate coordinator and advisor for the Sustainability Science and the Environmental Sciences Master’s programs of the Department.

He served on more than 50 Master’s thesis committees and advised three post-docs, and currently holds one patent shared with Purdue University. He is a co-author along with previous students on 87 publications/presentations, some of which received awards. In 2015, he received the University Distinguished Mentor Award of Murray State University. Cetin currently uses Big Data analytics to tackle water quality issues globally using GIS, remotely sensed data, and cloud computing, particularly Google’s Earth Engine.

Cetin has worked on several federally and state-funded projects as a principal investigator (PI) and provided leadership in interdisciplinary research projects. He has obtained a NASA grant to establish a Hyperspectral Laboratory at Murray State and has been director since 2006. He has also obtained educational grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and from private companies to set up a computer laboratory to enhance GIS capabilities of the department. Cetin obtained funding with a commercial company for development of value-added commercial data products from high-resolution commercial satellite imagery. He has also been a Co-PI of an NSF funded project, Center for Watershed Environments. Cetin managed to secure a large grant from the Department of Homeland Security for a water simulation project involving a multi-university/multi-agency effort. He has also received grants from KY NASA EPSCoR to work on Precision Agriculture-related projects including multi-institution collaborations, which involved JPL, NASA’s Stennis Space Center, ITD Spectral Visions, Murray State University Geosciences and Agriculture School, and the University of Kentucky. Cetin has published 56 papers and two book chapters, and has more than 100 presentations, some of which were invited and keynote presentations.

Cetin has reviewed books and many manuscripts submitted to several journals and served on editorial boards, such as The Open Remote Sensing Journal, Prompt International Research and Development (PIRAD) Journal, and the Journal of Yerbilimleri Earth Sciences. He has served on many committees and federal panels, such as NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowships, NASA Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST), U.S. EPA National Priorities, NASA ACT Program, NSF Assessment of Student Achievement in Undergraduate Education (ASA), (NSF 01-82), Kentucky GIAC One Zone Committee, NASA Sustainable Land Imaging Technology panels.

Cetin has been an active ASPRS member since 1990. He was the Chair of the 2014 ASPRS Annual Conference held in Louisville, Kentucky and received the Conference Management Award during this time, the National Director of ASPRS Mid-South Region from 2010-2016, the President of ASPRS Mid-South Region from 2005-2010, ASPRS Mid-South Region Student Coordinator from 1998- 2004, Kentucky Councilperson of ASPRS Mid-South Region from 1999-2001, and Vice President of the Mid-South Region from 2001-2004. He has been the faculty advisor of the Murray State Student Chapter of ASPRS since 1999 and received the Ford Bartlett Award. He has been active with other professional organizations as well. 

Dr. Cetin received a lapel pin and a hand-engrossed certificate at an Award Ceremony in Denver, Colorado on Feb. 7.