ASPRS is pleased to announce SectorInsight’s new editorial team, Youssef O. Kaddoura, Bob Ryerson, and Hamdy Elsayed.
Youssef O. Kaddoura Ph.D. is the Academic Program Specialist II in the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center at the University of Florida (UF). He graduated from the University of Florida with a doctoral degree in Geomatics Science. His research investigates establishing a reproducible methodology to georeference oblique tower-mounted (PhenoCam) images, through applying a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses the fields of photogrammetry, ecology, lidar, conventional surveying techniques and theories. As a member of ASPRS, he served as a Board Member for the period of March 2020 till March 2021. He holds a MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida, which included deploying innovative use of technology towards enabling aging seniors to live independently for a longer period of time. This work resulted in a US Patent titled “Remote surveillance and assisted care using a mobile communication device”, which served as a catalyst to further pursue remote sensing and photogrammetry. Previously, Youssef worked at Geospatial Consultancy Company, an ESRI partner in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Dr. Bob Ryerson, FASPRS, has been a senior scientist in government and has held senior executive positions in industry and government. His interests are in environmental and natural resource applications of earth observation and the economic benefits of geospatial information to society, with special reference to poverty reduction in developing countries through achievement of sustainable development goals. He has also made contributions to education in Canada, the USA, Australia and India where he has been an adjunct professor and served on various advisory and thesis committees.
Bob is a Fellow of ASPRS and has served as the Director of the Remote Sensing Applications Division of the ASPRS. He is also a Past-President of the Canadian Remote Sensing Society. He has served on the Boards of a number of companies and an industry association as well as on the EO Program Board of ESA. He has worked in more than forty countries in Asia, South America, Africa, Europe and the Pacific.
Bob has won the Canadian Remote Sensing Society’s Gold Medal, the Alan Gordon Memorial Award from the ASPRS for Outstanding Service over his career to Remote Sensing, the Roger F. Tomlinson Life-time Achievement Award in 2020 and awards for outstanding contributions to the Public Service of Canada. Several examples of his scientific work have been featured in Canada’s National Museum of Science and Technology.
Hamdy Elsayed is a Research Scientist in Lidar Systems at Teledyne Geospatial and Ph.D. Candidate, Researcher, and Teaching Assistant, in Geomatics Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, formerly Ryerson University). Hamdy has been serving as a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Remote Sensing Society since 2020, where he led and chaired several vital initiatives related to student engagement with the industry and building the student and young professional capacity to meet the market job requirements. Also, he served as a TMU Academic Senate member and a Professional Career Mentor.
Academically, Hamdy has a Bachelor of Science (w/Honor) in Electrical Engineering (2006) from Alexandria University and a Master of Science (w/Distinction) in Information Technology Management (2015) from the British University in Dubai. Additionally, he is a certified PMI Project Management Professional and an Advanced-Operations Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Pilot.
Hamdy has over 16 years of international experience leading and managing geomatics, remote sensing, and geospatial engineering projects in governmental and private institutions in North America, Africa, and the Middle East. Hamdy’s expertise covers Sensor Integration, aerial photography, lidar scanning, Indoor mapping, digital imaging, GNSS and inertial navigations, and depth sensing technologies. Hamdy was also awarded Mitacs Accelerated fund in 2018 to work on a research project with Teledyne and the Canadian Space Agency to build a new generation of space lidar scanning system. Additionally, he was awarded Cansel Business Award in 2021 and the best research presentation in the Canadian Symposium on remote sensing in 2020.
The SectorInsight Column is a general interest column related to education and professional development in the geospatial community. From the inception of ASPRS, the membership has been a balance of individuals, companies, and institutions from three primary sectors: private industry, government, and academia. SectorInsight seeks to highlight the interaction and importance of this balance. For more information on SectorInsight or PE&RS, please contact sectorinsight@asprs.org.