Dr. David H. Hathaway

Solar Physics Group, SD50
National Space Science and Technology Center
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL. 35805
david.hathaway@.msfc.nasa.gov

Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO., 1979
M.S., Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO., 1975
B.S., Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA., 1973

Following his completion of graduate studies at the University of Colorado, Dr. Hathaway served as a post-doctoral fellow from 1979-81 in the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. He then spent a year as a post-doctoral researcher at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) before being named as an Assistant Astronomer to the NSO in 1982. Dr. Hathaway left the NSO in 1984 to accept a position as a Research Scientist at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

Since his arrival at NASA, Dr. Hathaway has distinguished himself in many diverse fields of endeavor. Since 1987 David has served as lead for the Nearly Steady Flows and Magnetic Fields Team and has served on the NASA/MSFC Computer System Configuration Oversight Committee since 1988. In addition Dr. Hathaway has promoted NASA and the solar community at large by serving on the Solar Management Operations Working Group (1990-1992), the Sun-Earth Connection (SEC) Roadmap Committee, and the NASA/HQ Space Science Advisory Committee (2000-2002). While at NASA/MSFC Dr. Hathaway's commitment to solar research has earned him 6-Outstanding Performance Awards, 7-Certificates of Appreciation, and 4-Group Achievement Awards, culminating with the receipt of the Center Director's Commendation in 2000.

Dr. Hathaway's primary research interest involves the study of solar surface mass flows through the analysis of optical and video images. Often these optical/video images contain "jitter", blurring, and/or noise that inhibits the analysis process. In collaboration with Dr. Paul Meyer, Dr. Hathaway has developed image processing and enhancement techniques to minimize the impact of these imperfections. Dr. Hathaway has assembled these image-processing techniques into a software package called Visual Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR). VISAR has found numerous applications in the field of law-enforcement and is currently being developed for commercial distribution. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Drs. Hathaway and Meyer a patent for VISAR in December 2000.

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