David R. Thompson is a Technical Group Lead of the JPL Imaging Spectroscopy Group, Instrument Scientist for NASA’s EMIT and Lunar Trailblazer missions, and Investigation Scientist for NASA’s Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) project. His research advances the practice of imaging spectroscopy for characterizing Earth and other planetary bodies.

David’s methods have been fielded to four continents, three oceans, airborne campaigns on multiple continents, multiple Earth-orbiting spacecraft, and the surface of Mars. He has received the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal, the Lew Allen Award for Excellence, and the NASA Early Career Achievement Medal.