The basic requirements that define the NPOESS system are directly derived from a converged community of users ranging from civil to military to international and operational to research. This diverse group of NPOESS users is officially mandated and charted by the U.S. Government to advise the program office in the direction of the program. The group is known as the NPOESS “Senior Users’ Advisory Group” or ‘SUAG.’

The Presidential Symposium on the Advances of Environmental Remote Sensing NPOESS Users’ Panel, moderated by AMS President, Dr. Joe Friday, will be comprised of most of the current SUAG members. The participants will be given the opportunity to discuss their agency’s key NPOESS requirements and importance to their respective missions. Furthermore, panel members will discuss their respective agency’s plans and preparations to receive and exploit the huge increase of polar-orbiting environmental data that will be brought by NPOESS.

The invited members of the NPOESS Users’ Panel include:

Mr. Gregory W. Withee, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services,

RADM Steven J. Tomaszeski, U.S. Navy, Oceanographer of the Navy,

Brig Gen (S) Thomas E. Stickford, U.S. Air Force, Director of Weather,

Brig Gen (USAF Ret) John J. Kelly, Jr., NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for Weather Services,

Dr. Jack Kaye, NASA HQ, Director of the Research Division, Office of Earth Science

Dr. Tillmann Mohr, Director-General, European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)

Besides hearing individual statements by each of the panel members, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel. The overall result will be a very informative hour updating the atmospheric sciences community on the great operational, climatic and research data that will come from NPOESS.