Successful and Inspiring 80th Annual ASPRS Conference

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) held its 2014 annual conference for the first time with the co-located Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) Workshop. The event took place in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, from 23-28 March with “great success and an effective partnership”.

Holding the JACIE Workshop in conjunction with the ASPRS Conference was a win-win for ASPRS and JACIE attendees, and for both organisations as a whole. The ability to allow Government and industry technical experts a common forum located within the same facility and at a semi-overlapping time frame was invaluable, said JACIE spokesman Greg Stensaas, U.S. Geological Survey. The JACIE Workshop and ASPRS Annual Conference offered a number of overlapping technical sessions and a joint keynote address on Wednesday 26 March with David Hodgson, DCM International Imaging and Frank Kelly, U.S. Geological Survey – EROS Data Center. ASPRS and JACIE plan to co-locate again for 2015 in Tampa, Florida, 4-8 May 2015.

Geospatial Power in Our Pockets

The ASPRS 80^th Annual Conference welcomed over 800 attendees and introduced many new and fresh ideas into the conference programme, starting with the conference theme, Geospatial Power in Our Pockets. The technical programme consisted of over 70 sessions and 200+ presentations on topics such as Unmanned Aerial Systems, Emerging Technologies, Lidar, 3-D Modelling and many more.

Opening the conference, attendees were welcomed to Louisville in grand style with a reception at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Experiencing the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports”, attendees roamed the museum to find food stations, bourbon tastings, Derby history and more.

Christopher Begley, PhD, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Transylvania University began the technical programme as the keynote speaker on Tuesday 25 March with a fascinating presentation on “Lost Cities, Lasers, and the Vestiges of the Colonial Discourse of Archaeology”.

The newly created Business & Management for the Geospatial Professional track welcomed a number of special guest speakers to discuss topics such as the value of PMP Certification for the geospatial professional, funding and risk management, generating leads, marketing support ideas and discussions on the contract process for small businesses. The new track received resoundingly positive reviews and will continue to be offered at future ASPRS conferences to further integrate the entire ASPRS membership.

Exhibition

The exhibit area was filled with 40+ worldwide companies showcasing the latest products and services in the geospatial industry and remained active with Thought Leader Presentations, refreshment breaks and multiple receptions throughout the week. The hall again included the special UAS Showcase and welcomed three UAS companies with models, video and information on the popular unmanned aerial system industry. The new Thought Leader Presentation stage was a draw for attendees to hear 15 minute thought provoking presentations by exhibitors such as Esri, ISPRS, and Visual Intelligence. The stage also became a live music “jam-session” for a few of ASPRS’s very own, Tommy Jordan, Chris McGlone and Jesse Winch, entertained attendees on Wednesday evening during the Poster Reception with authentic bluegrass music.

Numerous awards were presented throughout the conference to many deserving recipients including two Honorary Members, service awards, student scholarships, outstanding papers, and ASPRS Region awards.  The 2014 ASPRS President, A. Stewart Walker was inducted on Tuesday 25 March, at the 80th Installation of ASPRS Officers, along with the 2014 vice-president, Charles Toth. Many Division Directors and Assistant Division Directors were also inducted to the ASPRS Board of Directors.