Robert N. Colwell, 87; Developed Satellite Analysis of Forests
Robert N. Colwell, a retired UC Berkeley forestry professor who developed the field of remote sensing from military interpretation of aerial photographs to eventually include satellite mapping of forests and assessing crop diseases, has died. He was 87.
Colwell died April 14 of respiratory failure at a Walnut Creek, Calif., hospital, the university announced.
A native of Star, Idaho, Colwell earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in plant physiology from UC Davis before joining the Naval Reserve as an air combat intelligence officer in World War II. He taught at Berkeley from 1947 until 1983 and remained with the reserve until 1977, intertwining academic and military careers that focused on aerial study of the Earth.
He became intrigued with aerial photography while using intelligence photos to help plan the Okinawa and Guadalcanal campaigns during the war. Developing that experience into a remote sensing program, he used aerial photography to identify tropical vegetation, determine moisture levels in dirt and detect insect infestations in crops.
Beginning in the 1960s, he added satellite photography and reconnaissance, including fluorescent and radiographic techniques.
Using satellite radar technology, Colwell played a key role in the 1970s in the first detailed mapping of 6 million square acres of the Amazon Basin, where cloudiness thwarted ordinary aerial photography.
He served as associate director of the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory from 1969 to 1983, coordinating a multicampus examination of California crops and natural resources.
Colwell wrote hundreds of scientific articles. He wrote the Manual of Photographic Interpretation in 1960 and was editor of the second edition of the Manual of Remote Sensing in 1983.
In the military, he was promoted to rear admiral, served as the first director of the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program, earned the Bronze Star and the Navy Commendation Medal, and in 1977 received the Legion of Merit from President Carter.
A widower, Colwell is survived by children Arthur, John, Robert Jr. and Nancy Coronado; and seven grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Deacons’ Fund or the Building Fund at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, 1801 Lacassie Ave., Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
