Nicole Wayant is the first winner of the Abraham Anson Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship was established in 2008. The purpose of the award is to encourage undergraduate students currently enrolled or intending to enroll in a U.S. college or university who have an exceptional interest in pursuing scientific research or education in geospatial science or technology related to photogrammetry, remote sensing, surveying and mapping to enter a professional field where they can use the knowledge of this discipline to excel in their profession. This annual scholarship will consist of a certificate and a check in the amount of $1,000 and a one-year student membership (new or renewal) in the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

Wayant is a senior at Kansas State University (KSU), studying for her BS in Geography and her BS in Mathematics. She has received several academic honors and awards for her scholastic achievements. She has also worked on several research projects at the university, notably, on a project entitled “Spatial-temporal Analysis of Malaria in Paraguay: Correlating Malaria and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index.” She expects to graduate in May 2009 and intend to pursue further studies in a graduate program in remote sensing.

For over six decades, Lt. Col. Abraham Anson, affectionately known as Abe, devoted a considerable period of his life to the cause of the Society in various forums and forms, as an author of many articles, Associate Editor of the Manual of Color Aerial Photography and the first edition of the Manual of Remote Sensing, and the editor of the Proceedings of the Aerial Photography Workshop for the Plant Sciences. He served on the Society and the Potomac Region Boards and numerous committees. After his retirement, Anson assumed the task of compiling the history of the ASPRS and the Potomac Region from its founding days, working countless hours with great dedication for several years.