Bill
Gail is Director of Strategic Development within
Virtual Earth at Microsoft Corporation,
with responsibility for expanding the capabilities of Virtual Earth
and its use throughout the community. He was previously Vice President of the
Mapping and Photogrammetric Solutions division at Vexcel Corporation (acquired in
2006 by Microsoft), where he directed a global organization responsible for a
range of Earth information systems and services. Prior to joining Vexcel, he was
Director of Earth Science Advanced Programs at Ball Aerospace where he led the
development of spaceborne instruments and missions for Earth science and
meteorology. Dr. Gail received his undergraduate degree in Physics and his Ph.D.
in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, focusing his research on
wave-particle interactions in the Earth's magnetosphere. During this period,
he spent a year as cosmic ray and upper atmospheric field scientist at South Pole
Station. Dr. Gail is on the Board of Directors of Peak Weather Resources, Inc.,
is a member of the editorial boards for
Imaging Notes magazine and the
Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, and is the Director of Industry
Relations for the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. He is a member of
the Executive Committee for the National Research Council's Earth Science
and Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future
(the
Decadal Survey) and previously served as a member of the NRC
Committee on Earth Studies (2002-05), the NRC Task Group on Principle
Investigator-Led Earth Science Missions (2001-03), the NRC Committee on NASA-NOAA
Transition from Research to Operations (2002-03), the NRC Committee to Review the
NASA Earth Science Enterprise Strategic Plan (2003), and the NASA Earth Science
and Applications from Space Strategic Roadmap Committee (2005).
