Category Archives: Professional Surveyor Archives
Student Essay Contest: One Foot on the Train, and One on the Platform
“Future of Surveying” essay contest runner-up Gordon Wilson begins his thoughtful essay with a reflection on his first survey with his father and shares his optimism for the future of the profession and a global community of surveyors. Gordon, a Maine native, holds a BFA in creative writing from the University of Maine, Farmington, and...
Student Essay Contest: On Level Ground
PSM is proud to award the first prize in the student essay contest to Julien Clifford, a fulltime student enrolled in the Geographic Informa-tion Science and Geospatial Surveying Engineering programs at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. As the grand prize winner, Julien will be awarded a new R10 GNSS rover courtesy of contest co-sponsor...
Diversification through Scanning
A once-small surveying firm builds its business by adopting new technologies, all inspired by high-definition laser scanning. PSM continues to profile surveyors and surveying firms that have grown by developing markets with an eye to the future of the profession. Enjoy this profile of a very successful firm that has done just that. Over the...
An Uphill Battle for Height
“You can’t change nature… But nature IS change!” – Remy in Ratatouille For decades climbers have struggled with the physical and technological hurdles of measuring the Earth’s highest mountain peaks. Now they’re turning to survey-grade GNSS equipment to measure extraordinary heights. It may surprise you to learn that the majority of the world’s mountains do...
Political Surveyor: “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” No Longer Works
Locating Pipelines and Other Underground Infrastructure The nation’s underground infrastructure is aging and deteriorating at a rapid rate. According to a University of Idaho study, “Much has been made, in recent years, of the potential crisis facing the nation due to our aging infrastructure. This concern is easily understood by the public as they travel...
Rules of the Game: The Surveyor as an Expert Witness
A surveyor is often involved in litigation in the capacity of an expert witness. In this capacity, the surveyor performs three functions. First, he or she identifies, introduces, and authenticates documents and other information relevant to the disputed boundary. Second, the surveyor explains the relevancy of certain information and how the information is used to...