The end of an era for the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science

John Schott retires from teaching

A. Sue Weisler

John Schott’s remote sensing research laid the cornerstone for RIT’s Ph.D. in imaging science. He retires from teaching at the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science this spring.

During his 33 years at RIT, Schott helped form the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and built the first Ph.D. program. He won the university’s initial research funding in 1981 in support of NASA’s Landsat program of Earth-orbiting satellites that monitor global climate change and gave the university a reputation for remote sensing.

His work commitments frequently extended into the weekend, but in his limited spare time, Schott transformed his family’s simple “salt box” cottage, built in the 1940s on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, into a year-round beach house, with multiple additions. Later, he took up woodworking when his wife, Pam, told him he needed a hobby, and now builds Mission-style couches, chairs and hutches.

Schott, the Frederick and Anna B. Wiedman Professor in Imaging Science, is retiring from teaching this spring. His research agenda will continue with a five-year commitment to NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, which named him to the Landsat 8 science and calibration teams, and also with ongoing projects for the National Reconnaissance Office.

“I love the classroom, and I’m going to miss it, but at the same time, we have five faculty now who do remote sensing in the center,” Schott says. “I’ve been teaching the core remote sensing courses for a long time, and I think it’s time for some of these other guys to shape the curriculum and to get the newest and latest ideas into the classroom.” (more)http://www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=50018&source=enewsletter