Don Davis, Jr.

The 2003 Alaska Conference Steering Committee has planned a once-in-a-lifetime conference that not only includes exceptional speakers, workshops, and an expanded technical program, but an experience that can truly only happen at the “Top of the World” in Anchorage. So plan on spending May 5-9, 2003 in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska attending the 2003 ASPRS Annual Conference.

We’ll get off to a rousing start with our keynote speaker, Professor Yang Kai. Professor Kai is currently president of the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP) and president of the Chinese Society of Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography (CSGPC). In addition, he is the deputy director general at the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping in Beijing, China.

Our plenary speakers are Dr. Craig Dorman, vice president for research at the University of Alaska, and Don Lauer, ASPRS president elect. A former Navy SEAL, Dorman was director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts following his retirement from the Navy as a Rear Admiral. Lauer is scientist emeritus at the USGS Eros Data Center.

The technical program will be one of the largest ever offered at an ASPRS Annual Conference, with 450 technical papers and posters from over 30 nations. Technical tours will be conducted at The University of Alaska Anchorage, including the Department of Geomatics; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s use of remote sensing & GIS; the U.S. Geological Survey’s use of remote sensing products to monitor volcanoes; the Bureau of Land Management; and DAT/EM Systems International to meet the staff who create the international software company’s line of photogrammetric products. In addition, there will be user group sessions, ASPRS workshops, and committee meetings held on the two days prior to the conference.

All of this will take place in our nation’s most spectacular natural setting – Alaska! The conference will be held at Alaska’s show place — The Egan Center — in the middle of downtown Anchorage. The Hilton Anchorage Hotel, offering magnificent views of Cook Inlet and North America’s highest mountain peak – Mt. McKinley – is the conference hotel. We expect more than 100 exhibitors to pack the Exhibit Hall in the Egan Center.

The social events we have lined up will ensure that you soak up an unforgettable Alaskan experience. On Tuesday evening we’ll go to Merrill Field Airport for The Welcome Reception and Airborne Technology Exhibits. This will be your opportunity to experience first-hand one of the world’s busiest general aviation airports and see aircraft equipped with photogrammetric on-board digital sensors. Talk to the pilots and professionals who use this equipment – you may never get this chance again! This year the Memorial Address, honoring Calvin Fifield and Tom Hazard, will be held at 11:15 on Wednesday. On Wednesday evening we’ll have the Exhibitor’s Reception at the Egan Center, followed by the University of Alaska Anchorage Geomatic Student Association multi-media presentation that will highlight student life in Alaska. On Thursday evening we’ll climb aboard the Alaska Railroad for “The Great Alaskan Train Adventure” to experience the state’s majestic scenery. Look for bald eagles, dall sheep, moose, the white beluga whales, and view some of the world’s most spectacular and breathtaking views of rugged, snowcapped mountains.. The adventure will start in Anchorage and proceed south along the Turnagain Arm to Portage. If we’re lucky we might see a unique bore tide, a huge wall of water rushing into or out of the Arm during tide changes.

Bring your golf clubs so you can participate on Saturday, May 10th in the Land of the Midnight Sun Golf Tournament, held on a course with a stunning backdrop of sharp, snow-covered peaks adjacent to the Matanuska River. This is a rare chance to golf above the 61st North Parallel and shoo big bull moose off the fairways and greens!

This conference has it all – great speakers, rewarding and educational workshops and technical programs, and the splendor and mystique of the Last Frontier – Alaska. I invite you to make plans to converge in Anchorage for what promises to be a memorable conference.

Don Davis, Jr. Don Davis, Jr.
Conference Chair