PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
June 2017
405
This innovation has allowed for giant leaps in our ability to
view the earth, to measure and monitor global environmental
changes in near real-time at unprecedented resolution, and
to democratize access to this information in order to guide
policy, planning and decision-making worldwide.
The ASPRS Outstanding Technical Achievement Award was
introduced for the first time in 2012. This Award consists of
a silver presentation plaque mounted on a wood panel plus a
check for $5,500.
Purpose:
This generous grant is designed to reward the de-
veloper[s] of a specific breakthrough technology which causes
quantum advances in the practice of photogrammetry, re-
mote sensing or geographic information systems in the Unit-
ed States.
Donor:
In 2011, ASPRS and the ASPRS Foundation received
a very generous individual donation from Honorary Member
and ASPRS Fellow Clifford W. Greve to endow a new Out-
standing Technical Achievement Award. This award is now
fully endowed at the $5,500 level.
ASPRS Fellow Award
Qassim A. Abdullah
Qassim Abdullah obtained his bachelor’s degree in civil en-
gineering from the University of Basra in Iraq and his mas-
ters and doctorate degrees in photogrammetry from the Civil
Engineering Department at the University of Washington in
Seattle.
He is the Senior Geospatial Scientist at Woolpert, Inc.,
Arlington, VA, where he is responsible for designing and
managing strategic programs to develop and implement new
remote sensing technologies. Most recently, he has been in-
volved in the calibration and processing of data from the sin-
gle photon counting LiDAR and leading Woolpert’s research
activities in the field of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), its
sensor calibration, and its workflow.
He is an accomplished scientist with more than 39 years of
combined industrial, research and development, and academ-
ic experience in analytical photogrammetry, digital remote
sensing, and civil and surveying engineering.
Before joining Woolpert in 2012, his prior employment his-
tory includes the following: 1994-2012, Chief Scientist, Fugro
EarthData Inc., Frederick, MD; 1993-1994, Vice President,
Orthographics, Inc., Bothell, WA; 1991-1993, Photogramme-
trist, Degross Aerial Mapping, Bothell, WA; 1984-1990, De-
partment Head and Research Scientist, Iraqi Space Research
Center, Scientific Research Council; 1978-1984, Research En-
gineer and Graduate Student, University of Washington, Se-
attle, WA; 1976-1978, Associate Site Engineer, Department
of Planning and Construction, Baghdad, Iraq
Over the course of his career, he has contributed signifi-
cantly toward the advancement of digital aerial imagery,
LiDAR acquisition, and production processes. Among his
accomplishments, he developed proprietary software applica-
tions for use in digital orthophotography and DEM produc-
tion; he developed and integrated a metric digital aerial cam-
era for rapid image acquisition; he integrated airborne GPS
into conventional aerotriangulation adjustments; he refined
inertial navigation systems and GPS technology for position
and orientation measurement; and he developed integrated
airborne GPS, inertial measurement, LiDAR data acquisi-
tion, and development of precise positioning algorithms and
processes.
He is affiliated with a number of national and internation-
al professional societies, is a published author of over 50 tech-
nical papers and reports, and is a sought-after professional
speaker and educator. He is involved in several national
committees, and participates in discussions regarding the in-
dustry and technology forecast, future technologies, process
improvement of LiDAR and digital photogrammetry, and ac-
curacy standards. He is an adjunct professor at the Univer-
sity of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an adjunct profes-
sor at the Pennsylvania State University, teaching graduate
courses in photogrammetry, remote sensing, GIS and UAS.
Abdullah has been an ASPRS member since 1979. Since
2007, he has published the monthly column “Mapping Mat-
ters” in
PE&RS
; he is a co-author of the
ASPRS Positional
Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data
(2014); he
authored a chapter in both the 5
th
and 6
th
editions of the
Manual of Photogrammetry
and co-authored three chap-
ters in the
Manual of Airborne Topographic Lidar
. He has
conducted 16 workshops during ASPRS conferences, and he
conducted five online webinars. He has served on numerous
ASPRS technical committees including PAD, PDAD, Lidar,
UAS and NTCP.
His ASPRS honors and awards include the Fairchild Pho-
togrammetric Award (2010), Outstanding Workshop Instruc-
tor Award (2012), and Presidential Citation Award (2015).
He is an ASPRS certified photogrammetrist and a profession-
al surveyor in four states.
(L-r) Qassim A. Abdullah and Charles Toth.
Yearbook
Awards & Scholarships
