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July 2017
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
What would you say to a younger generation?
•
Stay focused—
We are now living in a world with lots
of attractions and easier access to distractions. Young
professionals should really focus on what they are doing.
They need to have great passion, enthusiasm and drive,
in their study, research, and work. Being borne with “tal-
ent” does not necessarily lead us to success. There are
many examples of successful colleagues that accomplish
much because of their focus and dedication. One must
enjoy a life style of working seven days a week. Only with
this mode, can we possibly achieve our goals.
•
Be persistent
—It may not be hard to be “the one hit
wonder” and achieve some particular thing at a certain
point of time in one’s career. However, following the
advancing technology, staying contemporary, and even
leading the progressing of a field, requires persistence.
Over the course of one’s career, we face challenges in how
to start, how to progress, how to grow, and how to move
to the next level. It is a cycle that needs life-time commit-
ment, dedication, inspiration, and the never “giving-up”
kind of persistence. It would not be a surprise if one has
some dark times in his or her career. Think of Forrest
Gump as a role model; there is nothing easier than sim-
ply giving-up.
•
Think global—
Now that our hundred-year-long profes-
sion has transformed into a truly interdisciplinary one
with a much bigger scope and community, one has to ad-
mit that the best and most fundamental achievements in
our profession are often not from our immediate neigh-
bors. This opens a much bigger door for us to learn and
to remain informed. Almost as soon as one leaves school,
one’s knowledge starts to become dated and the journey
of life-time learning begins. We are learning from com-
puter science, electrical engineering, mathematics, sta-
tistics, physics, and many others. Young people at school
or beginning their career would have to lay down a solid
and broad foundation, think out of box, think logically,
and think rigorously.
•
Act local—
A big mind
can only grow to its full
potential with hands
on activities. The best
way to learn, and
learn quickly, is prac-
tice. This is especially
true when one has left
school and concepts
have to be grasped by
self-learning. Today,
we have a variety of
ways and resourc-
es to learn, including
watching
seminars,
attending workshops,
accessing open source data and tools, and working on
real projects. Given the forests of new knowledge and
technology to learn, one needs to have a systematic and
persistent approach to learning: tree by tree and step by
step. Eventually, it will lead us there and we will stay on
the new horizon.
How do you see the future of our profession?
Our discipline (geospatial science and technology) will con-
tinue, at a faster pace, to be more interdisciplinary. First, it
will be highly technology driven. Sensors are getting small-
er and lighter, with two typical examples being UAV sensing
and micro or nano satellite sensing. Advanced laser scanning
technologies are emerging with higher efficiency and higher
productivity. We can anticipate that they will be a benefi-
cial alternative or supplementary to traditional photography.
Moreover, the fundamentals of geospatial science and technol-
ogy are also revolutionary embracing new frontiers in physics,
electronics, computer vision, machine learning, and artificial
intelligence. Theories in photogrammetry and remote sensing
tend to be integrated under a common framework at both the
theoretical level and practical level. These emerging theories
will soon find broader and real uses in topographic mapping,
which is only one of the ever increasing needs in mapping sci-
ences. Finally, the practice of our profession is moving from
trained, disciplinary professionals to general public and “citi-
zen scientists.” More open data at a higher fidelity are publicly
available and are free of charge. The general public is becom-
ing more involved and contributing to the collection, update,
and utilization of geospatial data. The overlap between pro-
fessional and public domains is becoming increasingly larger.
From an academic perspective, the profound and fundamental
challenge we are facing resides in our learning and training,
both in college and beyond.
Professor Jie Shan was interviewed by Dr. Melissa J. Porterfield,
ASPRS Contributor
ASPRS MEMBERSHIP
ASPRS would like to welcome the following new members!
At Large
Douglas Simpson
Heartland
Brad Barker
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ASPRS MEMBERSHIP, VISIT
Your path to success in the geospatial community
Mid-South
Emily Gale Binnicker
Bradley Kruse
Jason Wallace
Eric Williams
New England
Aline Uwonkunda
Pacific Southwest
April Johnson
Christopher Nixon
Kristine Taniguchi
Rocky Mountain
Matthew Cuneo
Tom LaRitz
McCain McMurray
