USGIF Names Roberta “Bobbi” Lenczowski as the 2013 Arthur C. Lundahl – Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

BETHESDA Md. April 23 2014On Thursday April 17 2014 in Tampa Florida the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) announced Roberta “Bobbi” Lenczowski as the recipient of the USGIF Arthur C. Lundahl–Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award. She received her award during the GEOINT 2013* Symposium general session. Lenczowski is the 10th and first female recipient of the award.

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ASPRS Establishes the First UAS Mapping Calibration Test Course

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BETHESDA Md. August 18 2014 – The first mapping calibration test course for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) will be established by ASPRS at the Reno Stead airport an FAA-designated UAS test site.  The course will include ground surveyed targets of varying height radiometric targets undulating surfaces “surprise” targets and simulated flight restricted areas.  The first UAS flights of the test course will be conducted in conjunction with the UAS MAPPING 2014 RENO symposium on October 21-22 2014 in Reno Nevada.

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Charles Toth Elected as ASPRS Vice President

Scott Perkins John McCombs Jason Stoker and Frank Taylor elected as Assistant Division Directors

BETHESDA MD MARCH 7 2014 — ASPRS The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society announces the results of its 2014 elections for National Officers. The Tellers Committee reported that Charles Toth of The Ohio State University (OSU) won the election to become ASPRS Vice President for 2014. With the installation of officers at the ASPRS Annual Conference in March Stewart Walker moves into the position of President; Lynn Usery becomes President-Elect; and Stephen DeGloria becomes Immediate Past President.

TothVice President-Elect Charles K. Toth is a Research Professor in the Department of Civil Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at OSU. He received his MSc in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Geo-Information Sciences from the Technical University of Budapest Hungary. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal and proceedings papers and he is the co-editor of the widely popular book LiDAR: Topographic Ranging and Scanning Principles and Processing. Toth joined ASPRS in 1988. From 2004-2008 he served as Assistant Director then Director of the Photogrammetric Applications Division (PAD). Since 2008 he has served as the ASPRS Eastern Great Lakes Region National Director. He is also President for the 2012-2016 Congress Period of Technical Commission I for the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS).

Toth said “ASPRS is the premier society for geospatial information science and engineering professionals uniquely blending government the private sector and academia. It is absolutely essential for the entire society to maintain its position of leadership as the broad use and application of remote sensing and geospatial data reaches many users who are not traditional members of ASPRS.” Toth continued “we must be more proactive demonstrating our knowledge and competence to solve problems for humankind including disaster response environment climate change peacekeeping and food supply… I look forward to serving as an officer of ASPRS with honor and responsibility.”

 

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New ASPRS Executive Director Michael Hauck PhD. to Share his Vision at International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2014

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January 27 2014 (Portland Maine) – Organizers of the International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF) taking place February 17-19 2014 in Denver are delighted to announce that Michael Hauck PhD. the new Executive Director of ASPRS will be speaking at ILMF 2014.  “We’re thrilled to have Dr. Hauck address the ILMF audience at the 11th annual ILMF,” said Lisa Murray Director of International LiDAR Mapping Forum. “ASPRS plays a vital role in the LiDAR industry as it is the key organization that sets data format and accuracy standards for kinematic laser scanning and we are grateful for its support of ILMF.”

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In Memoriam Kimberly A. Tilley (1953-2013)

Kim award2It is with very deep sorrow and a tremendous sense of loss that we must inform you that Kimberly A. Tilley Associate Executive Director and Director of Communications passed away suddenly Friday evening December 27 2013 at her home in Bethesda Maryland.

Kim was a very critical resource to ASPRS not only to her fellow staff members but to the Society’s leadership and the membership at large.  As a colleague she was an indispensable confidant and advisor to me and I could not imagine how I would have effectively functioned as the Executive Director these past 16 years without her help.  Her contributions to the health of the Society have been numerous.  Kim’s unending commitment and devotion to students in general and specifically to the ASPRS student members are well known.  She was also the Executive Editor of PE&RS where she was very instrumental in making the front part of the Journal of interest to the broadest audience possible.  However many of her other most significant contributions have occurred well below the radar screen and thus were mostly invisible to the membership.  Nevertheless ASPRS would not be where it is without Kim’s untiring devotion; she truly cared for the Society its members and its mission.  

The family has announced the details of her Memorial Service to be held:
Saturday January 18 2014
at 11:00 a.m.
Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church
3401 Nebraska Avenue NW,
Washington DC  20016
Phone 202-363-4900

ASPRS Selects John R. Jensen and Stanley Morain as Honorary Members

John R. Jensen and Stanley Morain have been selected as the next Honorary Members of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). Their nominations were recently approved by the ASPRS Board of Directors. This is the highest award bestowed by ASPRS. There can be only 25 living Honorary Members of the Society at any given time. 

Initiated in 1937 this life-time award is given for professional excellence in recognition of individuals who have rendered distinguished service to ASPRS and/or who have attained distinction in advancing the science and use of the geospatial information sciences.  Jensen and Morain will receive their awards at the ASPRS 2014 Annual Conference in Louisville Kentucky.

2014 ASPRS FELLOW AWARD WINNERS

Bon A. Dewitt Rongxing Li Richard A. Pearsall Karen L. Schuckman and Douglas A. Stow have been named the 2014 ASPRS Fellow Award winners.  The ASPRS designation of Fellow is conferred on active Society members who have performed excep¬tional service in advancing the science and use of the mapping sciences (photogrammetry remote sensing surveying geographic information systems and related disciplines). 

The designation of Fellow is awarded for pro-fessional excellence and for service to the Society. Candidates are nominated by other active members recommended to the Fellows Committee and elected by the ASPRS Board of Directors. Up to 0.3 percent of the Society’s active members may be elected as Fellows in any one year.  The nominees must have made outstanding contributions in a recognized Society specialization whether in practice research development administration or education in the mapping sciences. Members of the Fellows Committee and the Executive Committee are ineligible for nomination.  This year’s awards will be given in March at the ASPRS 2014 Annual Conference in Louisville Kentucky.

Dr. Gordon L. Wells Joins the CaGIS/ASPRS Specialty Conference for Keynote Address

Gordon L. Wells PhD. Program Manager for the Mid-American Geospatial Information Center located at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research will address imaging mapping and geospatial information professionals as the keynote speaker for the CaGIS/ASPRS 2013 Specialty Conference Tuesday October 29 2013 in San Antonio Texas.

Dr. Wells also serves as a member of the Governor’s Emergency Management Council where his team supports the State’s preparedness and response programs for homeland security and natural disasters. His hurricane landfall modeling and simulation results for storm surge and wind impacts are used by the Texas Division of Emergency Management for public meetings planning and training and during activations of the State Operations Center for decision support during and after landfall. Dr. Wells will bring a wealth of knowledge supporting the conference theme Imaging and Mapping for Disaster Management: From the Individual to the Global Community.

ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker Announces His Retirement

 ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker has announced his retirement from ASPRS and plans to step down from his position effective January 2014. Plasker was selected as the Executive Director in 1998 to succeed William French who had served in the position for 20 years.  

As ASPRS Executive Director for nearly 16 years Plasker led or significantly contributed to numerous programmatic efforts on behalf of the ASPRS membership and the broader geospatial community.  These included resolution of professional licensure issues and expanded geospatial representation to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES); development of the Ten Year Remote Sensing Industry Forecast (Phases I-IV); increased awareness of Landsat data continuity issues and the requirement for a National Land Imaging Program; ASPRS participation in several U.S. Department of Labor career and statistical reporting programs including NAICS and ONET; expansion of both thenumber and monetary value of the ASPRS awards and scholarships endowed through the ASPRS Foundation; supported a number of ASPRS studies on camera calibration digital orthophotography and the value of Landsat data; aided ASPRS volunteers in the development of the LAS common data exchange standard and the best practices guidelines for procurement of professional geospatial services and geospatial products; oversaw expansion of the ASPRS Certification Program to include technologists and intern categories; and increased efforts to support the accreditation of applied science and engineering programs through his continuing service to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

ASPRS Lidar Division Releases First LAS Domain Profile

Thanks to a recent initiative of the ASPRS Lidar Division different segments of the lidar mapping community now have the ability to customize the LAS file format to meet their application-specific needs.  The new mechanism that makes this possible is the LAS Domain Profile which is a derivative of the base LAS v1.4 specification that adds (but does not remove or alter existing) point classes and attributes.

ASPRS Launches First eBook – Manual of Airborne Topographic Lidar

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is pleased to announce the launch of its first eBook — Manual of Airborne Topographic Lidar — on the Kindle platform.  “Making the Manual available as an eBook gives customers the option to have it available at their fingertips on either a Kindle or on another device with a Kindle app,” said ASPRS Communications Director Kim Tilley.  “This is perfect for students and those working in the field who don’t want to carry around the printed book or for those needing quick delivery with no mailing costs.”  The eBook is available through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3FWBO6.

MANUAL OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY SIXTH EDITION NOW AVAILABLE

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) announces the Manual of Photogrammetry Sixth Edition is now available for purchase through the ASPRS Bookstore.

Under the leadership of J. Chris McGlone PhD CP as Editor-in-Chief and George Y.G. Lee PhD Technical Editor the Manual covers photogrammetry in depth as well as its constituent technologies providing the student practitioner or researcher with a single valuable reference resource.

ASPRS INITIATES DEVELOPMENT OF MANUAL OF REMOTE SENSING 4TH EDITION

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) has initiated development of the fourth edition of the Manual of Remote Sensing (MRS) under the leadership of Stan Morain as Editor-in-Chief Mike Renslow as Associate and Technical Editor and Amelia Budge as Associate and Design Editor. This project planned for completion in 2015 will be designed and executed as an enhanced e-book and will focus on three Parts: Systems Data Management and Applications.

The Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) Team Announces its 2014 Workshop to be Held in Conjunction with the ASPRS 2014 Annual Conference

The Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) team will hold the 2014 JACIE Workshop in conjunction with the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Annual Conference in Louisville Kentucky on March 23-27 2014.  The announcement was made by the JACIE team and keynote speaker Roberta Lenczowski (ASPRS Past President) during the Workshop in Saint Louis Missouri in April.

The 2014 JACIE Workshop will be held Wednesday through Friday beginning on March 26 as a separate track at the ASPRS meeting. The program planning for JACIE and ASPRS will integrate some key speakers and highlights into a few ASPRS special and/or hot topics sessions. In addition ASPRS will provide attendees to the JACIE Workshop with the opportunity to register for a combined JACIE/ASPRS experience that will allow JACIE attendees to visit the ASPRS Conference Exhibit Hall as well as ASPRS General and Technical Sessions as time permits during the week of the JACIE Workshop.

ASPRS ANNOUNCES OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD WINNERS

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) proudly announces the following 2013 Outstanding Service Award Winners:  

Mike Renslow for his service as Editor‐in‐Chief of the Lidar Manual his efforts to achieve accreditation for the ASPRS Certification Program and his service as ISPRS Treasurer 2009 – 2012.

The Guidelines for Procurement of Commercial Geospatial Mapping Products Committee Charles Mondello Chair; and committee members Mark Baker Becky Morton Marvin Miller Brant Howard Kari Craun George Southard Jeff Lovin Mike Ritchie and Paul Harwig for their efforts to develop the draft guidelines.

Chris McGlone for his service as Editor‐in‐Chief of the Manual of Photogrammetry 6th Edition.

George Y. G. Lee for his service as Technical Editor of the Manual of Photogrammetry 6th Edition and his dedicated efforts to fully endow the Francis H. Moffitt Memorial Scholarship.

ASPRS ANNOUNCES 2013 AWARD WINNERS

Christian Heipke Winner of Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award

The 2013 Photogrammetric Award (Fairchild) was awarded to Prof. Dr. Christian Heipke at the 2013 Annual ASPRS Conference in Baltimore on March 26. Heipke was awarded the Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award for his contributions including advancing the transition from analytical to digital photogrammetry significant achievements in object extraction from digital imagery and image matching progressing the introduction of softcopy systems and more recently helping to reinforce the essential connection between photogrammetry and computer vision. Heipke has been Professor Habilitation (the highest academic qualification given overseas) since 1994 and has been a Full Professor and the head of the Institute of Photogrammetry and GeoInformation at the Leibniz University Hannover since 1998.

This award the essence of which is practicability is designed to stimulate the development of the art of aerial photogrammetry in the United States.  The selection committee makes its choice based on an outstanding invention or design involving any type of equipment that applies to the art of aerial photogrammetry; any outstanding method developed for the general use of aerial photographs and/or imagery; outstanding research for study along aerial photogrammetric lines and outstanding effort for the general advancement of the art of photogrammetry.  Lockheed Martin donates funding for the award which consists of a silver presentation plaque.

Clive Fraser Winner of Outstanding Technical Achievement Award

This year’s recipient of the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award is Dr. Clive Fraser for his development and production of the digital camera calibration program “Australis.”  The Australis automatic camera calibration system was developed to accommodate contemporary calibration requirements and is a software system for digital camera self-calibration that incorporates an innovative workflow for improved efficiency and effectiveness. The significant features of Australis are efficiency flexibility automation and calibration to the highest metric standards. Fraser serves as Honorary Professor of Infrastructure Engineering Program Science Director Cooperative Research Center for Spatial Information and Professional Fellow Department of Infrastructure Engineering University of Melbourne Australia.

This award was introduced for the first time in 2012 and is given to a developer of a specific breakthrough technology which causes quantum advances in the practice of photogrammetry remote sensing or geographic information systems in the United States. Dr. Fraser received the award in March at the ASPRS 2013 Annual Conference in Baltimore.

In 2011 ASPRS and the ASPRS Foundation received a very generous individual donation to endow a new Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.  In accordance with the wishes of the donor a long time ASPRS member this donation was made anonymously. ASPRS has agreed to match the donation in accordance with its current matching policy resulting in and ensuring this annual Award will be fully endowed.
    

ASPRS Launches New Association Smartphone App!

BETHESDA Md. March 5 2013 — The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is launching an association and conference focused smartphone app for use by ASPRS members and those interested in the Society. The app will keep ASPRS competitive and continue to provide members with the tools they find essential such as real-time access to association news member directories information on ASPRS webinars and conferences and critical industry alerts all from their iPhone or Android smartphone.The app is available on both iPhone and Android platforms.

 

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Lynn Usery Elected as ASPRS Vice President; Pierre le Roux Elected as Assistant Director of the Primary Data Acquisition Division

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The results of the 2013 election have been tallied by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Tellers Committee and they reported that Lynn Usery U.S. Geological Survey won the election to become ASPRS Vice President for 2013.  With the installation of officers at the ASPRS Annual Conference in March Stephen D. DeGloria moves into the position of President; Stewart Walker becomes President-Elect and Roberta (Bobbi) Lenczowski becomes Past President.  Pierre le Roux was elected Assistant Director of the Primary Data Acquisition Division (PDAD).