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DR. THOMAS W. COOLEY

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Dr. Thomas Cooley is the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Senior Scientist (ST) for Space Situational Awareness (SSA).  This is a unique AFRL (ST) position reporting to both the Directed Energy and Space Vehicles Directorates.  Dr. Cooley leads the AFRL SSA scientific and technical enterprise to identify new technologies and develop integrated capabilities to support the AF Space warfighter with timely, accurate, and actionable space relevant information.   

Dr. Cooley began his career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory working for three years developing advanced microwave communications and remote sensing technologies while attending graduate school.  After completing his doctorate, he spent one year as a “Post-Doc” Researcher advancing optical calibration techniques in Toulouse, France.  

He joined the AFRL in 1998 and has contributed to a wide range of technologies focused on electro-optic sensors and imaging spectroscopy from space platforms.  In 2004, Dr. Cooley became the Principal Investigator of the Advanced Responsive Tactically-Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer, a hyperspectral sensor built to demonstrate the value of that phenomenology for a wide range of military applications. Prior to its launch, Dr. Cooley assumed full programmatic responsibility for the entire Tactical Satellite-3/Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer satellite program until its mission ended in April 2012.  In the past four years, Dr. Cooley has been the AFRL Space ISR Mission lead supporting Air Force Space Command and Air Combat Command technology and capability planning processes with his broad expertise in space sensors.  

Dr. Cooley has published over 70 papers in national and international journals or conferences. He has also served as an adviser on space and airborne sensors technology to the Air Force Space Command, the Space and Missile Systems Center, and other organizations. 

EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.
1991 Master of Science, Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 
1995 Doctor of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson
2007 U.S. Air Force Air War College, by correspondence

ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1988 – Aug 1991, Member Technical Staff, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
2. August 1991 – Feb 1995, NASA Graduate Student Fellow at University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. , sponsored by NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
3. March 1995 – Nov 1995, Post-Doctoral Research Scientist, Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches de Toulouse (CERT, now ONERA), Toulouse, France.
4. November 1995 – Feb 1998, Senior Member Technical Staff, Nichols Research Corporation in support of Space Experiments Division, Space Vehicle Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M.
5. February 1998 – Sept 2001, Principal Investigator of Warfighter-1 Hyperspectral sensor, Space Experiments Division, Space Vehicle Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
6. September 2001 – Nov 2004, Program Manager of Imaging Spectroscopy program, Space Background Division, Space Vehicle Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, Mass., and Kirtland AFB, N.M.
7. November 2004 – Feb 2009, Principal Investigator of ARTEMIS payload, Space Experiments Division, Space Vehicle Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
8. February 2009 – Apr 2012, Program Manager and Principal Investigator for TacSat-3 and ARTEMIS payload, Space Experiments Division, Space Vehicle Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M
9. March 2012 – Mar 2015, AFRL Space ISR Mission Lead, Sensor’s Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio and Kirtland AFB, N.M.
10. March 2015 – present, Air Force Senior Scientist for Space Situational Awareness, Directed Energy and Space Vehicles Directorates, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M. 

MAJOR AWARDS AND HONORS
2001, 2010 AFRL Commander’s Cup Team Award
2006 AIAA Associate Fellow
2008 AFRL International Team Award (Team Lead and Program Manager)
2009 Harold Gardiner Director’s Cup Award, AFRL/Space Vehicles Directorate
2010 C4ISR Journal “Big 25” Award overall winner, for TacSat-3
2011 AIAA Top Space Experiment Award for TacSat-3
2011 AFRL Fellow
2016 SPIE Fellow

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS
Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, Fellow and Associate Editor for Optical Engineering
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Associate Fellow and Space Systems Technical Committee
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Senior Member and Atmospheric Transmission Meeting Chairman for IEEE – Geophysics and
Remote Sensing Society 2004-2014

 


(Current as of December 2016)