2
January 2019
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
INDUSTRY
NEWS
To have your press release published in
PE&RS
, contact Rae Kelley,
.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Senate passes
GIS Day Resolution
following successful
passage of Geospatial Data Act—Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) led a Senate resolution to
designate 15 November 2018 as “National GIS Day.” Senators
Baldwin (D-WI), Blumenthal (D-CT), Capito (R-WV), Hassan
(D-NH), Inhofe (R-OK), and Wyden (D-OR) joined Hatch and
Warner in submitting the resolution.
“The Senate designates November 15, 2018, as ‘National
GIS Day’; encourages users of Geographic Information System
technology … [including] educators, students, and innovators
to continue to employ GIS to learn and explore, to analyze and
address societal challenges; and to drive economic growth for the
betterment of the people of the United States and individuals
around the world.” — the three-page resolution concludes.
This recognition by the Senate punctuates the passage of the
Geospatial Data Act, included as a component in H.R. 302, the
FAA Reauthorization Act signed into law last month.
USGS Selects
Dewberry
to Complete Lidar Mapping for State
of Florida. Under an active Geospatial Products and Services
contract, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has selected
Dewberry, aprivatelyheldprofessional servicesfirm, to complete
a statewide lidar mapping project for Florida. The project is
funded by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and
USGS as part of Hurricane Irma Disaster Recovery, Response
and Preparedness measures being conducted by the state and
federal agencies.
The approximately $20 million USD project includes airborne
lidar data acquisition, ground survey, and preparation of bare
earth point cloud and digital elevation model (DEM) products
for various applications to support response, recovery, and
preparation for future storm events. The resulting quality
level 1 data will be primarily used for hydrologic and hydraulic
modeling and many engineering applications by the water
management districts to mitigate the impacts of flooding
caused by these storms. USGS and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) will also utilize these data for
various flood studies. The project encompasses an area of more
than 34 000 square miles.
Dewberry has acquired and processed nearly 22 000 square
miles of lidar data for various local, state, and federal agencies
in Florida within the past three years. “As we continue to map
the state of Florida, we’re looking forward to using the best
technology and personnel to complete such a vast undertaking,”
says Dewberry Vice President and Director of Remote Sensing
Amar Nayegandhi, (CP, CMS, GISP.)
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“Once these data are
acquired and analyzed, they will be able to support USGS,
FEMA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the
Florida water management districts, and several other state
and local agencies in their mission to better prepare for natural
disasters and minimize loss of life and property; and use these
scientific data to enhance and protect our quality of life.”
Dewberry will serve as prime contractor for this project and
will perform the majority of the data production. The firm is
teaming with seven other partner firms including Woolpert,
Inc., Quantum Spatial, Inc., and Digital Aerial Solutions, Inc.,
which will acquire and process data to support the project.
Dewberry’s other subcontractors will be tasked with acquiring
airborne lidar data.
“We have 11 aircraft with top-of-the-line airborne lidar
sensors being deployed for data acquisition starting in early
December. I’m excited to manage this project and support the
needs of USGS, their partner.
PEOPLE
GeoCue Group, Inc.
is extremely pleased to announce that
Mr. Henry “Hank” DiPietro has joined the company as Vice-
President of Business Development. Hank, a civil engineer
by training, brings deep experience in engineering, GIS,
transportation and public safety to the company.
“Hank and I go way back to the mid-1990s” said Lewis
Graham, President and CTO of GeoCue. “We worked
together at Intergraph, bringing innovative civil engineering,
photogrammetry and GIS products to market. We then formed
Z/I Imaging, a joint venture company between Intergraph and
Carl Zeiss of Germany. While at Z/I Imaging, we developed and
brought to market the world’s first large format framing digital
mapping camera. With our end-to-end sensor workflows for
drone mapping, our dominance in aerial/mobile lidar scanning
software and our new forays into cloud managed geospatial
data systems, Hank’s expertise and market presence will be
invaluable.”
“I am extremely excited to join GeoCue Group. After looking
closely at the innovative products, solutions and people the
company has to offer, it was an easy decision for me to join
the team. GeoCue technology has a place in all the industries
I have worked in over my 30 years; mapping, engineering,
construction, transportation, utilities and public safety. I look
forward to applying my experience in end user needs in those
industries to our business development efforts.”
“Hank has always been viewed by customers as a trusted
advisor,” said Jim Meadlock, Chairman of GeoCue Group.
“GeoCue is a company that puts the interests of the customer
ahead of all other concerns. This makes Hank the perfect
executive for our new enterprise technical direction.”
* CP- Certified Photogrammetrist, CMS - Certified Mapping
Scientist, GISP - GIS Professiona
l
