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Graffs and Pessaro receive Commander’s Awards

Published Nov. 13, 2007

ERDC-TEC physical scientists Linda Graff, Fred Pessaro and Brian Graff recently received the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.

As the technical management team lead for the Combat Terrain Information Systems (CTIS), Ms. Graff was recognized for directing the successful development and delivery of Digital Topographic Support System (DTSS) software to U.S. Army Engineer Terrain Teams at every maneuver brigade, division and corps, including units deploying in direct support of Operations Iraqi Freedom andEnduring Freedom (OIF and OEF) from June 2004 to August 2007.

 

DTSS provides critical, timely, and accurate digital and hardcopy geospatial data, information, and products to Army and Joint Command and Control elements in support of mission planning, rehearsal, and execution. DTSS is geospatial component that supports Army Battle Command Systems and Distributed Common Ground System – Army.

Graff received the 1997 TEC Director’s Award for Team Excellence for her role in the development and fielding of CTIS software and supporting the DTSS during Advanced Warfighting Experiments.

 

Pessaro was recognized for his exceptional service as associate director for operations for CTIS from June 2004 to August 2007. He directed operational support and training of the DTSS for every maneuver brigade, division and corps unit deploying to OIF and OEF. Pessaro received the TEC Director’s Award for Excellence in Operational Support in 1990 for supporting U.S. combat forces and other defense organizations during OperatioDesert Shield/Desert Storm. He received the ERDC and TEC Director’s Award in 2002 for providing extensive DTSS training, hardware and software support to U.S Army Engineer Terrain Teams.

Graff was recognized for his support and leadership of theGeospatial Information Integration and Generation Tools (GIIGT) Army Technology Objective (ATO). The goal of this ATO was to deliver tools to integrate, manage, and exploit multi-source imagery, features, and elevation data in order to present the best set of relevant terrain information. GIIGT produced data management software tools for feature linking, feature fusion validation and error detection, cross-sensor image registration, digital elevation model fusion, and automated feature extraction. Graff received a Small Business InnovationResearch Quality Award in 2006 for his work with Visual Learning Systems in automated classification of remotely sensed imagery.


Release no. 07-001