Beginning in November 1996, Dobson will serve a one-year term with UCGIS, a non-profit organization of universities and other institutions dedicated to geographic research. He previously served as chair of the organization's interim research committee and led the development of the UCGIS' annual process for determining research priorities and promoting the organization's research vision. ORNL is the only non-university among the 25 founding institutions in UCGIS.
Dobson holds several positions related to geography. He is the scientific editor of the GIS World Sourcebook and contributing editor and member of the editorial advisory board of GIS World. He is a member of DOE's Geographic Information Council and a team leader in the National Center for Environmental Decision-making Research. He is the author of more than 80 publications.
Dobson was instrumental in originating the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis and establishing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). His research has advanced remote sensing methods for large-area change analysis, and he has proposed new evidence and theory regarding the mechanisms responsible for lake acidification and new evidence and theory regarding continental drift and plate tectonics.
Dobson came to ORNL in 1975 after completing his doctorate in geography at the University of Tennessee. He has a master's and a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of Georgia.
Dobson and his wife, Gwen, reside at Eaton Crossroads in Lenoir City and have two sons, Eric, 26 and Craig, 21.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp.