Surveying–Special Interest Group Newsletter
Welcome to the Surveying–Special Interest Group Newsletter, a periodic e-newsletter from the ESRI survey team. Each issue provides a quick glimpse of industry news, upcoming events, reminders, and information about integrating survey and GIS.
In this Issue
Survey and GIS Summit 2006
Fourth Annual Survey and GIS Summit 2006
Join more than 400 surveyors, engineers, and GIS professionals in San Diego, California, at the Fourth Annual Survey and GIS Summit 2006 to explore business, technology, and collaboration opportunities across the industries. Held in conjunction with the ESRI International User Conference, the summit provides a unique opportunity for you to network and learn about the latest GIS technology, applications, and methodologies. Download the 2006 brochure. [PDF-317 KB]
Show Us Your Survey
Put that expensive digital camera to use for a chance to be part of the Fourth Annual Survey and GIS Summit! Reveal the colorful and unique profession of land surveying by sending us photos of your crews at work. We will select a collection of submissions that capture the essence of surveying. Don’t be shy; the more original your photo is, the better, but we welcome all photos. E-mail your submissions to surveysummit@esri.com with “Show Us Your Survey” in the subject line. Please include your name, e-mail address, and telephone number.
Surveying–Special Interest Group Meeting
The Surveying–Special Interest Group (S–SIG) will hold its semiannual meeting at the San Diego Convention Center, in San Diego, California, on Tuesday, August 8, from 12:00 noon–1:00 p.m. in Room 30-C. Created during the inaugural Survey and GIS Summit, the group aims to extend industry focus to unite practitioners in the land surveying and GIS professions. The group is open to anyone interested in surveying and GIS. For more information or to join, please visit the S–SIG Web site.
Keynote Address
Wendy Lathrop, PLS, will give the keynote address at the Survey and GIS Summit. Ms. Lathrop is licensed as a professional land surveyor in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland and as a professional planner in New Jersey. She represented the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) to the Technical Mapping Advisory Council of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 1995 to 2000. Ms. Lathrop formerly served as president of both the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors and the National Society of Professional Surveyors.
Session Highlights
Industry Executive Panel
Business Opportunities for Surveyors in GIS
Visionaries from surveying industry leaders Trimble, Topcon, Leica, and the National Geodetic Survey will discuss opportunities for surveying and GIS and how their organizations are leading the way in collaboration efforts. Moderated by ACSM executive director Curt Sumner, this panel will focus on the direction of the industry and discuss how surveyors can take full advantage of new opportunities.
Michael L. Dennis, PE
Putting It on the Ground
GPS positioning yields geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height), which by themselves are of limited use in many surveying and mapping applications. The process of converting the coordinates to a Cartesian grid system using map projection distorts the relative position of the geodetic coordinates, both in scale and orientation. While GPS surveys correct this to an extent, other types of distortion become a concern. Conventional instruments that readily detect distortion create confusion about which distances are “correct.” This session explores this problem and the different ways surveyors attempt to combat it.
Intersect LIVE!
Professional Surveyor Magazine "Intersect" columnists Janet Jackson, GISP, and Randy Rambeau, PLS, look at the business issues of surveying and GIS and discuss their intersection, overlap, synergies, and the benefits of having both practices in the same company. What are the issues with providing GIS services in a surveying atmosphere, and what are the benefits of providing surveying capabilities in a GIS services organization? This important and entertaining forum will take questions from the audience to help convey that there might not be a gap at all to be bridged but opportunity to be exploited.
Industry News
Is Technology Changing the Face of Surveying? [PDF-144 KB]
Jennifer Mauer, CAE
As technology shapes the world, it is important to recognize its effect on the surveying profession. In her article, Jennifer Mauer interviews three leading professionals from across the nation who have all embraced technological advances to improve their businesses. Their discussion ranges from how technology enhances the profession and how it is changing the way surveyors operate their business to their business secrets and how they are turning their visions into reality.
Survey Says “Yes!” GITA and ACSM to Co-Locate in 2008 [PDF-104 KB]
Bob Samborski, Executive Director of GITA
Collaboration and industry consolidation are the driving forces behind the Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA) and ACSM conference merger for 2008. The geospatial industry encompasses many sectors and it is important to offer a forum that brings them together. Bob Samborski, executive director of GITA, takes a look back at past conferences and discusses why ACSM and GITA will come together for one event. This article also highlights what is in store for the 2008 conference and how this collaboration will lead to more opportunities among industries.
Calendar: Key Events
Local GIS User Group Meetings
Survey and GIS Summit
San Diego, CA
August 5–8, 2006
ESRI Education User Conference
San Diego, CA
August 5–8, 2006
ESRI International User Conference
San Diego, CA
August 7–11, 2006
Florida Surveying and Mapping Society
51st Annual Conference
Orlando, FL
August 16–20, 2006
The 44th Annual URISA Conference
Vancouver, British Columbia
September 26–29, 2006
XXIII International FIG Congress & German INTERGEO
Munich, Germany
October 8–13, 2006
55th Annual TSPS Convention & Technology Exposition
The Woodlands, TX
October 11–14, 2006
ASCE Annual Civil Engineering Conference
Chicago, IL
October 19–21, 2006
Trimble Dimensions 2006
Las Vegas, NV
November 6–8, 2006
ACSM-IPLSA-MSPS 2007
Annual Conference and Technology Exhibition
St. Louis, MO
March 9–12, 2007
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