Florida Region ASPRS Blog

Please view the PDF version of this announcement, located:
http://www.flasprs.org/docs/ProfAward_Flyer.pdf

Are you a member of the ASPRS Florida Region in good-standing, and know someone who has made significant contributions or advancements to the remote sensing, photogrammetric, or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) profession? Here is your chance to give that person some well-deserved
recognition.

The Florida Region of ASPRS is now accepting nominations for the Professional Recognition Award. This is a yearly award meant to highlight the accomplishments of professionals whose actions have promoted the mission of the ASPRS. Of those nominated, two (2) will be selected (a current Florida Region ASPRS member and a non-member) for the award.

Winners of the award will receive a one-year paid ASPRS membership.

To submit a nomination form go to:
http://www.flasprs.org/docs/ASPRS_Professional_Award_Recognition_Form_09082009.pdf

click to enlarge

At this past year’s ASPRS Conference in Baltimore, the Florida Region’s website placed 2nd overall for the Website of the Year award, by which we had 16 other regions to compete with. Also noteworthy, is when you type “ASPRS” in Google, the Florida Region’s Website comes up 3rd only after ASPRS, and the ASPRS Conference websites. Whoo-hoo!

We are very honored with the recognition ASPRS has bestowed upon us; however we aim to continue to make the website better and better as we move along - to the point of hopefully winning 1st place one year.

One way to accomplish this is to have increased postings and content to our website and blog; thus, if anyone is interested in contributing as an author or would like to help provide oversight to the website, please contact Brian at webmaster@flasprs.org
You can write about or post anything related to Remote Sensing, GIS or Photogrammetry.

ASPRS Nationals is in the process of putting together a series of videos documenting the History of Photogrammetry with funding donated from a variety of sources (including the Florida Region). The funding is directed towards the Public Television project: “Geospatial Revolution”

Before reading on, I highly recommend taking a moment to click on the link above to watch this video.

- B. Murphy

President’s Message - June 2009

Greetings to Everyone,

The Florida Region of ASPRS is off to a great start this year and we are planning on continuing our efforts through participation at the Florida Survey and Mappers Society (FSMS) Conference in August, membership assistance to our unemployed members and with the New Professional Recognition Awards.

The second annual FL ASPRS Geospatial Symposium held in Gainesville in February was a great success with excellent presentations in many different fields of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. In addition to the presentations we hosted a very well attended Certification Preparation Course. Thanks again to Brian Murphy for all of his efforts to coordinate and host the Symposium once again.

In August of 2009 we will once again be working together with FSMS at their Annual Conference to help bridge the gap between survey and photogrammetry and to show our support for their efforts. Board members Al Karlin, Brian Murphy and Evan Brown will be teaching courses this year on Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing at the Conference for Continuing Education Credits. I encourage all of our members to attend the Conference and show your support. www.fsms.org

This year we have also instituted a new program to recognize members and non-members that have made contributions to our industry with the Professional Membership Awards. Details will soon follow but we are asking our members to nominate a current member and a non-member of ASPRS here in Florida who they feel has made a significant contribution to the profession. Once the nominations are received the Board will vote and select one from each category and present them with a certificate and one year’s paid membership dues.

In association with the ASPRS National Board of Directors the Florida Region is going to pay membership dues to Florida Region members who have lost their jobs during this turbulent economy. Members in good standing can feel free to contact any of the board members for assistance with this program or with help renewing your membership.

Please join me in congratulating the newly elected Florida Region Board Members:
Brian Murphy will continue in his role as a Director
Keith Patterson will be replacing Dan Casey as a newly elected Director

Thanks to Dan Casey for his efforts during his tenure as a Director here in Florida

Regards,

Erin McCormick
Florida Region President ASPRS
emccormick@aerometric.com

I was asked to pass along notice of the following job opening with Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies.

Best regards,

Bon Dewitt

Open Position:       

Calibration/Validation Engineer (Photogrammetrist) TSSC-03/09/09-514

Full Time

Requirements:       

Education: BS Required, MS or higher preferred

Discipline(s):  Photogrammetry, Civil Engineering, Geomatics or similar

Years of Experience:  3 years working with aerial imagery and/or sensors required.

Required Skills: 

This position requires a strong analytical background in photogrammetric and camera calibration principles.  Excellent oral and written communication is essential, as is the ability to work well and communicate with a broad variety of people and backgrounds.  This position requires the ability to operate independently as well as within a team; and the ability to establish a solid working relationship with customers, technical staff, and management at all levels.  Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are required.

Other Desired Skills:

Experience in aerial imaging operations, surveying, flight planning, establishing ground control, and software development is highly desired.

Job Description: 

Photogrammetrist or Engineer with exceptionally strong aerial imaging background to assist the USGS customer in the planning, development, and transition into operations of the USGS Digital Aerial Quality Assurance Plan.

Responsibilities:

Provide expertise in the technical and operational aspects of aerial imaging and assist in developing, writing, and implementing the plans, procedures, tools, infrastructure, and skills needed to bring the USGS Digital Aerial Quality Assurance Plan into full operations.  The successful applicant will bring his/her skills to a multi-disciplinary team at the USGS EROS and work with government, industry, and academic partners within the U.S. and from around the world.  The successful applicant will also be involved in camera calibration, researching new sensor characterization and calibration techniques, and help coordinate and establish standards for the digital aerial community nationally and worldwide.  Some travel will be required (average 1 week/month).

This position will be posted to the career opportunities listing on the SGT website (http://www.sgt-inc.com). Please apply on line.

  Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V                                                                                                                                                                                                   March 9, 2009

Hello Everyone,

Please join me in congratulating Brian Murphy and Keith Patterson for being elected to the FL Region ASPRS Board of Directors.  I look forward to working with you both in the coming years.

The 2nd Annual GeoSpatial Symposium was an excellent success, special thanks to Brian Murphy and all of his efforts to get the Symposium planned and prepared.  We had several excellent and diverse presentations from many different fields in our industry, all of the presenters did an excellent job.  We also had a Certification class on the day before the symposium that was very well attended.  I am looking forward to next year.

Please be sure to join us at the upcoming GITA Conference at the Tampa Convention Center.  ASPRS will have an exhibit booth at the Conference this year staffed by the FL Region Board members.  Please come by and say hello and bring along anyone who may want to join ASPRS.  The Conference is the week of April 19-22, for more information follow the link below to their website, hope to see you there. 

We are also in the process of finalizing the new Professional Membership Award and will soon be releasing the nomination forms and all of the details.  Please stay tuned, these awards are to recognize 1 member and one non-member of ASPRS for their contribution in the GeoSpatial Sciences with an Award and one year of membership dues paid by the Florida ASPRS Region.

Our next board meeting will be in May at which time the new Board members will be inducted.  The meetings are always open to the public and anyone who would be interested in attending is always welcome.

Regards,

Erin McCormick

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has an opening for A Summer Student Intern in the Mapping and GIS Division

Flexible hours, up to 40 hrs/week
On-site at the District Headquarters in Brooksville, Florida
Competitive hourly pay dependent on experience level

Position Requirements:
Must be a student enrolled in a college program
Basic knowledge of GIS (ESRI-ArcGIS)
Willingness to learn new software and Remote Sensing techniques

Send Brief Resume or for additional information contact:
Dr. Al Karlin (Al.Karlin@SWFWMD.State.FL.US)
2379 Broad Street
Mapping and GIS
Brooksville, FL 34604

All:  This year, we will be electing two (2) Directors to the FLASPRS Board of Directors.  We have a fine slate of candidates, all well qualified and outstanding the field.  The candidates are Dan Casey (from PhotoScience), Brian Murphy (from 3001, Inc.), Chris Ogier (from Woolpert, Inc.), Keith Patterson (from Dewberry, Inc.) and Mike Rodger (from PTI Maps).  If you do not know these individuals, I have included a brief biography with your ballot.  However, I encourage you to contact them (or other Directors) to discuss any ASPRS related business.

Your ballot should be arriving within the next day or so (first week of March) contains a self-addressed envelope for you to return your ballot. Exercise your choice and vote for two (2) nominees.  Please return your ballots to me prior to 31 March 2009.

Thank you … Al Karlin

For the most recent list of presentations, please click on the image below in order to open the most recent PDF version of the 2nd Annual Geospatial Symposium Program. The Symposium is going to be held Feb 25th, with an ASPRS Certification Workshop held Feb 24th, for those interested in pursuing their Certified Photogrammetrist or Certified Mapping Scientist credentials.

Click on the image below for the PDF version of the Program:

An election is the essence of democratic governance.  Back in 2008 we saw one of our Country’s most highly publicized elections.  Now in 2009 ASPRS members are presented with an opportunity to choose our Society’s leadership.

One of the offices on the current national ASPRS ballot is Vice President.  A Florida Region member, Gary Florence, is running to hopefully become the Society’s next Vice President.  The Florida Region Board of Directors strongly endorses Gary Florence for ASPRS Vice President.

Gary has been active with ASPRS and the Florida Region for many years, having held every office on the Board at one time or another.  Gary’s leadership and organization of the 2007 ASPRS Annual Conference in Tampa resulted in one of the Society’s most successful conferences to date.  Gary’s personal initiative, professional leadership, and industry experience make him an excellent candidate to lead our Society at the national level.

Please exercise your right to vote in this current ASPRS election.  Your vote must be mailed to ASPRS by February 9, 2009.  Also, please remember to sign the envelope of your vote to ensure that it is valid and counted.