PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
April 2017
253
A N I N T E R V I E W
DR. QASSIM A. ABDULLAH
It is not easy to climb to the forefront of the achievers list,
but it is more possible to reach than many people may think.
Passions and dedication to your profession of choice are keys
to reach your goals. Sincere and creative dreams can lead you
to places you would never reach without them.
I am writing this piece to inspire young professionals who
may find themselves tangled in the corporate rat race and feel
they have nowhere to go. Life, unless you were born wealthy,
will always require a hard and often difficult daily routine.
However, you need to recognize this reality and decide on
whether you want to let this routine consume you or if you
can acknowledge the routine and plan an exit strategy. The
latter option, not only helps you survive the routine, but
allows you to unleash the potential in yourself that may lead
you to even greater successes.
I would like to share the personal side of my professional
life experience, hoping it will help you in your quest to
excel and reach your goals. Throughout my 40-year career,
I have dedicated my professional life to engineering and
geospatial sciences, and technology. I have practiced these
with integrity, passion, curiosity and hard work. Integrity is
paramount to gain the trust of people around you. Passion
drives you to persevere when things get hectic. Curiosity
pushes you to create and to think outside the box. And hard
work provides you with the extra time you need outside of
your daily work commitments and routines. Like me, you
likely will find yourself working, reading or analyzing issues
during holidays and weekends, while others are enjoying
their favorite sports on television.
We all make different choices in life, and all choices are worth
respect and recognition . You need to learn that recognition
for creativity and hard work sometimes is not instantaneous.
Years may pass without assurance from others that you
are on the right path or confirmation that your work in the
science profession is worthwhile. This is normal. Do not let it
discourage you from marching forward, as you may lose the
momentum you need to take you to the next step.
I practiced all of the above factors and now find myself in a
position in which many professionals wish to be. I am proud
to be one of the professionals shaping the geospatial mapping
industry and its technologies. People put trust in me due to
Humbled by the Recognition,
Proud of My Service
my long history with them through innovations, assessments,
evaluations, critiques and publications. I have been honored
with and humbled by many recognitions and awards
throughout my career. These have included the prestigious
Fairchild Photogrammetric Award, a presidential citation
for co-authoring the new mapping accuracy standards,
and the Outstanding Workshop Instructor Award for my
contributions in teaching workshops during the American
Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
conferences over the last 20 years or so.
Most recently, I was awarded with two new awards by ASPRS,
The Outstanding Service Award for publishing my monthly
column “Mapping Matters” and the ASPRS Fellow Award,
as I was elected to be an ASPRS fellow. The ASPRS Fellow
Award is the second highest honor bestowed by the society
to its members in recognition to their contributions to the
science and profession. In a letter from the ASPRS president,
he stated: “It gives me great pleasure to inform you that
you have been elected a Fellow of the American Society for
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. You have given your
“...keep up the good work and do
not get discouraged if the tide
sometimes flows against your
dreams. This too shall pass.”
Qassim A. Abdullah, Ph.D., CP, PLS is Senior Geospatial
Scientist and Associate with Woolpert, Inc.
