Title: NEURISA Webinar – Overview of the Northeast LiDAR Project
Abstract: Funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, as well as, direct funding from other federal, state and local entities, Photo Science was recently contracted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to collect and process LiDAR data for more than 8,000 square miles of the coastal zone and inland areas spanning six Northeastern states, including Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. Photo Science is tasked to provide project management, LiDAR data collection and processing, control surveys, product development, and quality control services. This project will not only help stimulate the U.S. economy and provide for more accurate floodplain mapping in the region, but will also represent the start of a regional LiDAR collection program that will be used as a test case for a national elevation program. The webinar will feature Photo Science staff providing a technical overview of the project approach, specifications, deliverables and schedule as well as discuss the potential applications served by this high resolution elevation data set.
The Maine Office of GIS will also provide background on the formation of the coalition of state and local agencies that banded together to secure the ARRA funding grant and move the project ahead with the USGS.
Speakers:
Mike Shillenn, Senior Program Director – Photo Science
Mike Shillenn has over 23 years of experience in the design, management and execution of a broad range of geospatial technology services projects supporting end user applications. He is currently a Senior Program Director at Photo Science’s West Chester, Pennsylvania office working with that firm’s federal, state, local, and commercial clients. He is the immediate Past President of the Pennsylvania Chapter Management Association of Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (PA-MAPPS) where he continues to serve on the Board of Directors. He has served for three terms on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Mapping and Geographic Information Consortium (PAMAGIC) and was a founding committee member of the Pennsylvania’s I-Team. He has also been active in a variety of professional organizations such as Mid-Atlantic Chapter of URISA (positions included president, vice president, & conference co-chair), GITA, and Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors.
Mike holds a BS in Geography from the Pennsylvania State University and has been granted the title of Certified Photogrammetrist (#R1027) by the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Mike lives in Downingtown, Pennsylvania with his wife, Dawn, and 20 year old daughter, Erin.
Michael Smith, State GIS Manager, Maine Office of GIS
Michael Smith has over 19 years experience in the geospatial field, chiefly in spatial data management, enterprise GIS architecture, and remote sensing. He is currently the State GIS Manager for Maine, overseeing the Maine Office of GIS (http://megis.maine.gov) which provides GIS data and services to thousands of customers in Maine and elsewhere. His background is in wildlife biology and he has spent much of his past years modeling wildlife habitat or otherwise managing and analyzing biological spatial data. He currently serves on the Maine GeoLibrary Board, the Maine GIS Users Group Board of Directors, and is the Maine state representative to the National States Geographic Information Council.
Michael holds a BS in Wildlife Ecology from Texas A&M University, and a MS in Wildlife Sciences from the University of Washington. He lives in Gardiner, Maine with his wife and 3 children.
Cost: Free - Online Registration REQUIRED. See www.neurisa.org/events for more information.
More webcast information will be provided in confirmation e-mails prior to the event.