The 2001 ASPRS Annual Conference “Gateway to the New Millennium” held April 23-27, in St. Louis, Missouri at the America’s Center and Adam’s Mark Hotel, was a huge success! It was hosted by ASPRS: The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society, and both the ASPRS Central and St. Louis Regions. This meeting was developed under the leadership of Kari Craun, Central Region National Director and David Kreighbaum, St. Louis Region President and attracted over 1800 people from public, private, and academic sectors, with a large number of international attendees as well.
The week began on Monday and Tuesday with workshops and usergroup meetings. There were a total of 13 workshops, covering a wide range of topics and applications including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geodesy, photogrammetric mapping, softcopy photogrammetry, orthophotos, and change detection analysis. Workshops on Softcopy Photogrammetric Production: The Concepts & Technology; Airborne GPS-controlled Aerial-Triangulation: Theory & Concepts; and Preparing for ASPRS Certification, were all sold out. However, it appeared that the Performance, Accuracy, and Economics of Imaging Sensors, LIDAR, and Advanced Acquisition Technologies for Surface Data Generation was the most popular; selling out with over 60 attendees!
The User Group meetings, hosted by individual ASPRS Sustaining Member companies, featured many demonstrations and discussions of current and new software products and capabilities. Companies represented were Boeing Autometric; E. Coyote Enterprises; ERDAS, Inc.; ESRI; PCI Geomatics; Research Systems; and ZI Imaging, bringing many additional participants to the conference. Among the user group meetings this year, NASA offered their Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LCDM) workshop, which was heavily attended.
A “Classified Session,” organized by Dr. William Stein, Dr. Casey Szpak and William Heidbreder was held on Tuesday at the Boeing Corporation Facility in St. Louis. The program “Government Applications of Satellite Image Information” featured several invited papers and posters from private sector and government representatives who work with classified data. Technical Tours to NIMA, the Surdex Corporation and the St. Louis University GIS Laboratory ran Tuesday through Thursday. Also featured, as a technical tour was the Army Corps of Engineers Hydrographic Survey Vessel. Participants were allowed to get a first-hand glimpse of this static display and learn how the Corps conducts hydrographic surveys.
The formal conference began on Wednesday with an opening session that included a digital fly-over of the St. Louis downtown area, and a keynote address by Dr. Peter Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Dr. Raven left a lasting impression that geospatial technology is the key to saving the earth’s resources for future generations. Prior to Dr. Raven’s speech, Conference Co-chairs Kreighbaum and Craun offered a short glimpse of the evolution of past technology to modern geospatial methods and equipment.
Over 300 papers were presented at more than 100 educational sessions held Wednesday through Friday. Session topics ranged from sensors, GIS, and natural resources to image processing, photogrammetry, and many other related areas.
The exhibit hall opened on Wednesday afternoon with more than 80 vendor companies and over 100 booths. The hall was buzzing with plenty of activity. Vendors filled the show floor, presenting to attendees the best products and information available in the imaging and geospatial information industry today. The hall kept a steady flow of traffic from the time it opened on Wednesday afternoon until the show closed on Friday. And there was a very large participation from the local community. More than 200 exhibitor company guests visited the exhibition during the week. The opening reception held Wednesday evening allowed attendees to socialize and view exhibits in a relaxed environment. Over 20 posters were presented on Wednesday and Thursday, and remained on display in the exhibit hall during show hours.
Thursday was the busiest day of the entire program. The day began with a Plenary Technical Session, first time ever at an ASPRS Annual Conference. George Hepner, incoming ASPRS President, gave opening remarks to the membership and Lawrie Jordon, founding partner and CEO of ERDAS, Inc., gave an outstanding speech regarding the future of our industry. The ASPRS 12th Annual Awards Luncheon and 67th Annual Business Meeting and Installation of Officers were also held on Thursday. During the business meeting, incoming ASPRS President George Hepner was installed, along with President-elect Terrance Keating, Vice President Donald Lauer, and new division and assistant division directors. Awards were presented for outstanding papers, professional achievements and service. The Awards ceremony continued on Thursday afternoon, following the Memorial Lectures honoring Joseph P. Burns, and Houssam (Sam) Karara.
Participation in the conference was not limited totally to work. A “Welcome to St. Louis” Reception hosted by the ASPRS Central and St. Louis Regions was held on Tuesday evening. The event was designed to provide attendees with an opportunity to network and renew old acquaintances in a casual setting. After the reception, a large group of attendees got the chance to watch the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team emerge victorious in a battle with the Montreal Expos at nearby Busch Stadium. The main social event was held Thursday evening in St. Louis's Science Center, which showcased a multi-media bonanza for the senses. Good food and fun were the main events of the evening, along with three showings of movies in the OMNI/MAX Theater and a live band.
"The entire conference was a success, which is a testament to the hard work and planning accomplished by ASPRS and the local committee. Conference attendees saw the latest technology and caught a glimpse of the future of the industry,” said Kreighbaum.
Photographs from the 2001 ASPRS Annual Conference will be located on the website at http://www.asprs.org. To obtain a copy of the conference final program, contact ASPRS headquarters at asprs@asprs.org. The conference proceedings, on CD-ROM, may be purchased from the ASPRS Distribution Center ($50 list price; $35 for ASPRS Members) by calling 301-617-7812 or emailing asprspub@pmds.com.
Don’t miss upcoming ASPRS conferences: Measuring the Earth – Digital Elevation Technologies and Applications, hosted by ASPRS and MAPPS, focuses on applications, new technology, and how to make it work for the end user; to be held October 29 to November 2, 2001 in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel. The 2002 ASPRS/ACSM Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held in conjunction with the FIG 2002 XXII International Congress, April 19-26, 2002, in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Visit the ASPRS web site http://www.asprs.org for the most up to date information about ASPRS and our conferences.
Founded in 1934, ASPRS is an international professional organization of more than 7,000 geospatial data professionals. ASPRS members are involved in all aspects of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, GIS and related technologies.
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(22 May 2001)