The annual meeting is a general meeting that involves the election of officers and directors for the next term, presentation of annual reports and special sessions focused on technical, professional and career growth.

The American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing Student Chapter at the U of A proudly announces its first annual meeting 2025, centered around the theme "Mapping your career, one student at a time." This event aims to provide students with invaluable industry insights, networking opportunities and professional guidance from experts in GIS, remote sensing and photogrammetry.

The event will feature lead scientists and scholars from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the Arkansas Department of Transportation and professors from the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies and the Department of Geosciences at the U of A.

It is free and open to all students, faculty and staff. The annual meeting will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, April 18. This is an afternoon event divided into a series of talks, addresses, networking sessions and a panel discussion. The first keynote address will feature Michael Nolte from NGA St. Louis, followed by Sharon Hawkins and Christopher Pipkin from the Planning & Research Division, Arkansas Department of Transportation.

A quick bio about the invited speakers:

Sharon Hawkins
Hawkins has been with the Arkansas Department of Transportation's GIS & Mapping Section for over 25 years and serves as the staff GIS and mapping administrator. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in geography and began her career at ARDOT that same year. Hawkins oversees a team of 12 individuals who manage the statewide, county and city map production, as well as various GIS endeavors across the agency such as all public road database (ARNOLD), the sign database maintenance and field collection, and the intersection database. She enjoys the variety in her job, as well as the opportunities to help her co-workers around the department discover how GIS can enhance their day-to-day job duties. 

Christopher Pipkin
Pipkin is a geospatial analyst at the Arkansas Department of Transportation and a meteorologist at KARK 4 News in Little Rock. He holds a Bachelor of Science in geosciences from Mississippi State University with a background in GIS and meteorology. At ARDOT, Pipkin works with transportation GIS, managing mapping and data analysis to support infrastructure planning and decision-making. His work includes integrating geospatial data to improve project management and enhance GIS workflows across the agency. At KARK, he applies GIS in meteorology, utilizing mapping and radar tools to track severe weather and communicate forecasts effectively. Pipkin enjoys finding innovative ways to use GIS in both transportation and weather, helping improve public understanding of complex data through visualization and analysis.

Hank Theiss
Theiss is a research associate professor with a specialty in photogrammetry, data adjustment, error propagation, EO/IR/SAR/LIDAR sensor modeling from airborne and spaceborne platforms, image formation, close range applications, registration and exploitation tool validation. He earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering at Purdue University in 2000, held a visiting assistant professor position at Purdue for one year and worked as a defense contractor in the D.C. metro area leading a team of senior scientists for almost 20 years. He has a long history and interest in working collaboratively with colleagues in the government, industry and academia. Theiss' research interests include sequential bundle adjustment; applying the Generic Linear Array Scanner or Generic Frame-sequence Model to publicly available image products such as the Key Hole family of spaceborne sensors; error modeling, adjustment and accuracy assessment of 3D GEOINT products; and AI/ML/DL augmentation with photogrammetry.

Michael Nolte
Nolte serves as a senior photogrammetrist in the Precise Imagery Division of the Office of Geomatics at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. In his nearly 20-year career at the agency, he has served numerous responsibilities, beginning as a cartographer digitizing maps, leading a 32-nation alliance to produce a global elevation dataset and engaging with national and international partners to develop standardization documents to direct geospatial data content throughout the world. Prior to joining NGA, Nolte served in various roles in municipal government and private industry, including GIS coordinator for the Ogle County (IL) GIS Consortium and director of photogrammetry at Digital Aerial Solutions, a comprehensive aerial surveying and mapping small business. Nolte received his Bachelor of Arts in geography with a minor in geology from the University of Illinois and his Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Purdue University. He is currently a student in the Digital Photogrammetry Research Group under the direction of Ayman Habib, with his research focused on simultaneous LiDAR and electro-optical sensor calibration. Outside of his professional and academic activities, Nolte is active in local government, where he is an elected commissioner and vice president of the Waterloo Park District; he is a director of a charitable fraternal organization responsible for awarding $15,000 in annual scholarships; he serves as a USA Swimming official for his children's swim clubs and enjoys running and swimming in his leisure time. He resides near St. Louis in Waterloo, Illinois, with his wife, three children, two cats and a Labrador Retriever.

What is in store for you? Explore internships and job opportunities, insights into research and career opportunities. You will get to know how these scholars/scientists have navigated life as geospatial leads in their careers and get advice/guidance. This event will give participants a well-rounded perspective in both technical expertise and career guidance. 

If you are making use of LiDAR, GIS, UAVs, photogrammetry and remote sensing, we would be honored to have you here with us. Register for the general meeting.

Details for Online Attendees:

Join Zoom meeting:

Meeting ID: 960 618 2795
Passcode: 1A2b3c4#