LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Dr. Donald W. Hanson upon the occasion
of his retirement from the Rome Air Force Research Laboratory

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body seeks to acknowledge those individuals
whose professional lives and civic endeavors serve to enhance the stat-
ure of the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Dr.
Donald W. Hanson upon the occasion of his retirement from the Rome Air
Force Research Laboratory, to be celebrated on Thursday, June 4, 2009;
and
WHEREAS, In his capacity as Director of the Information Directorate,
Dr. Donald Hanson served with loyalty, honor and distinction; and
WHEREAS, In his official acts, Dr. Donald Hanson was governed by a
keen sense of duty and always showed a unique grasp of human problems;
and
WHEREAS, In 1968, Dr. Donald Hanson earned his Bachelor of Science
degree in Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Tech-
nology; he later received both his Master's and his Doctor of Philosophy
in Electrical Engineering, from Syracuse University; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Donald Hanson, a member of the Senior Executive Service,
is Director, Information Directorate at the Air Force Research Laborato-
ry, in Rome, New York; the directorate is the center for the advancement
and application of information systems science and technology to enable
information dominance for the Air Force; and
WHEREAS, The directorate's areas of investigation include a broad
spectrum of information technologies for fusion, communication, collabo-
rative environments, modeling and simulation, defensive information
warfare, and intelligent information systems; as Director, Dr. Donald
Hanson oversees a large annual budget, and directs the activities of
approximately 670 civilian and 60 military employees, plus about 520
non-government civilians working on-site under Air Force contracts; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Donald Hanson began his career with the Air Force in 1968
when he joined the Rome Air Development Center; he has held a variety of
assignments with progressive responsibility in both management and tech-
nical leadership positions, ending in his current position, which he
assumed in May of 2005; his principal technical work was conducted in
the fields of photonics, radar and adaptive optics; he has written or
co-written more than 10 publications in these areas, and holds two
patents with co-inventors; and
WHEREAS, With Dr. Donald Hanson throughout have been his wife, Susan,
their two daughters, and their two grandchildren, all of whom feel priv-
ileged to be a part of his life and rejoice in his achievements; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure with the Rome Air Force Research Laborato-
ry, Dr. Donald Hanson earned the admiration, esteem and affection of his
colleagues; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Dr. Donald W. Hanson upon the occasion of his retirement after 40
plus years of distinguished service; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Dr. Donald W. Hanson.