Murray Felsher was born on October 8, 1936, in the Bronx, New York, to Harry Felsher and Ruth Kleinman Felsher. He grew up in New York City and entered the scientific profession through geological study and teaching.
He married Natalie Yagodnick on June 10, 1961. They had three children: Elyann Lee, Harry David, and Joshua Jeremy. The family later maintained connections with academic and professional communities in Texas, Washington, and Maryland.
Felsher received a Bachelor of Science degree from the City College of New York in 1959 and a Master of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1963. City College, founded as a public institution of higher education in New York, had a long tradition of widening access to scientific and professional education; the University of Massachusetts provided graduate training within the expanding American research-university system of the postwar period.
He pursued postgraduate study at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, completing a Canadian Research Council postdoctoral fellowship there, and received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1971. His doctoral work was conducted under the sedimentary geologist Robert L. Folk, and the university's geology program formed the academic setting for his later work in marine geology, sedimentology, and remote sensing.
Felsher began his scientific career in marine and sedimentary geology. His early research included work on oriented marine cores and the California continental borderland, and he published geological studies while completing his graduate education. After his postdoctoral appointment at McMaster University, he joined the geology faculty of Syracuse University, serving as an assistant professor from 1967 to 1969.
In 1969 he moved to Washington, D.C., becoming associate director of the Council on Education in the Geological Sciences at the American Geological Institute. The council was supported by the National Science Foundation and worked within the professional infrastructure that connected geological education, research, and public science policy. Felsher subsequently became a senior scientist and remote-sensing coordinator at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked on the use of remote sensing for national environmental enforcement and monitoring.
From 1975 to 1980, Felsher worked at NASA Headquarters, where he served as chief of Geological and Energy Applications and as a program scientist. NASA's Earth-resources programs were then developing the practical uses of satellite imagery for geology, environmental assessment, mapping, and resource management. His later public comments emphasized the importance of applying remote-sensing data to the needs of end users rather than treating satellite technology as an end in itself.
After leaving NASA in 1980, Felsher became president of Associated Technical Consultants, a consulting organization based in the Washington metropolitan area. He advised federal agencies and aerospace companies on satellite remote sensing, commercialization, marketing, and public-private cooperation. His consulting work included projects for Eastman Kodak, KRS Remote Sensing, NASA, the Department of Defense, and other organizations involved in Landsat and Earth-observation applications.
Felsher also became a publisher and editor of Washington Remote Sensing Letter, which he began in 1981 from an office in the National Press Building. He later published Washington Federal Science Newsletter and related federal-science periodicals. His writing, lectures, and professional workshops addressed remote sensing, environmental applications, Earth-observation policy, and the relationship between government programs and private-sector services.
He taught or lectured in remote sensing, environmental studies, chemical oceanography, Earth and space sciences, and related subjects at several institutions, including the University of Maryland, Montgomery College, Hood College, the University of Hawaii, and the International Space University. In the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Chautauqua program, he led short courses in remote sensing and environmental case studies for college science teachers. In later years he continued consulting, writing, and geological work, including research related to the contributions of Abbé Paramelle to geology.
Felsher contributed to the development and public application of satellite remote sensing through federal agency work, consulting, technical writing, and professional instruction. His activities connected Earth-observation science with environmental enforcement, geological analysis, mapping, resource assessment, and commercial services.
He helped establish professional and policy links between government Earth-observation programs and private-sector remote-sensing companies, including work associated with Landsat commercialization and value-added satellite-imagery services.
He authored and co-authored geological and scientific works on marine cores, the California continental borderland, remote sensing, and the history and practice of geology.
(A white paper prepared by Felsher for congressional heari...)
1991(A report describing Associated Technical Consultants' wor...)
1998(An article examining conceptual approaches to geology and...)
1991(A research article describing an instrument for recoverin...)
1964(A correspondence article by Felsher published in Nature i...)
1970Felsher's professional writings and public remarks emphasize the practical application of science and technology. In discussions of satellite remote sensing, he argued that the usefulness of Earth-observation systems depends on the knowledge products delivered to end users and on effective cooperation between scientific agencies and private firms.
His later geological interests also reflect an effort to connect technical observation with broader questions about the history and practice of Earth science. His work on Abbé Paramelle and his reflections on geology show continuing interest in how field observations, interpretation, and public communication shape scientific understanding.
Felsher has participated in professional organizations spanning geology, geophysics, remote sensing, science communication, aerospace, and national security. His long membership in the Geological Society of America included election as a Fellow in 1975 and later service connected with its History and Philosophy Division.
He also belonged to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Society for Sedimentary Geology, Sigma Xi, the National Press Club, and other professional and civic organizations. His association work included committee service, board participation, leadership in remote-sensing groups, and involvement with organizations representing the Earth-observation industry.
Fellow; later involved with the History and Philosophy Division.
Geological Society of America , United States
1975
Member and participant in educational and scientific programs.
American Association for the Advancement of Science , United States
Senior member.
American Astronomical Society , United States
American Geophysical Union , United States
Committee member, board member, and director of the Remote Sensing Applications Division.
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing , United States
Technical program chairman for the 1977 annual meeting.
Society for Sedimentary Geology , United States
Sigma Xi , United States
National Press Club , United States
Founding director.
North America Remote Sensing Industries Association , United States
1995
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Alumni League , United States
Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association , United States
District of Columbia Science Writers Association , United States
Felsher married Natalie Yagodnick on June 10, 1961. Their children are Elyann Lee, Harry David, and Joshua Jeremy. He has maintained professional connections with the University of Texas at Austin, where he completed his doctorate, and with Robert L. Folk's geological community.
