Fresno State hosts 64th annual geomatics engineering conference

About 300 people are expected to attend the 64th annual Geomatics Engineering Conference from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, at the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union at Fresno State.

This year’s conference is a collaboration between the Student Association of Geomatics Engineers, the California Land Surveyors Association student chapter, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing student chapter and the Society of American Military Engineers student chapter.

The conference has connected students, faculty, survey industry professionals and researchers since 1961. It supports Fresno State’s geomatics program and students. 

“This is an event for professionals to come in and hear amazing talks, and grow professionally, but it’s also a chance for them to come back to the place that started their entire career path and guide current students,” said senior geomatics engineering student Katlin Rowley (of Exeter), who is the chair for this year’s conference.

The two-day event will provide networking opportunities for geomatics students and professionals by bringing in area businesses and agencies as they reveal the latest technologies in land surveying, photogrammetry, unmanned aerial systems, geographical information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS).

Fifty industry, government and academia leaders will discuss topics such as business and land surveying, LiDAR mapping and 3D scanning. 

The conference will feature Michael Patrick Durkee, attorney and author of “Subdivision Map Act Navigator.” Durkee will provide tips and tricks on how to use the Subdivision Map Act to its full capacity, as it is important in the daily work of surveyors. 

“What I am looking forward to most about this conference is to see the growth that it has taken on over the past three years I have been volunteering,” said conference geomatic engineering student and co-chair Zachary Rohde. “Over my time at Fresno State, we brought back the conference from when it was canceled due to COVID and made it grow each year. This year we are planning to have more speakers, vendors and attendees than ever before.”

The Jan. 23 banquet dinner will start at 5 p.m. at Pardini’s, with the theme “Land Surveying Throughout Time.” Fresno State President Saul Jiménez-Sandoval will be this year’s keynote speaker.

“President Jiménez-Sandoval has been an incredible supporter of our conference, and we are so excited to hear him speak about the relationship between Fresno State and the engineering community,” Rowley said.                                                                                         

Dinner will be followed by scholarship presentations. Scholarships are funded by the California Land Surveyors Association Education Foundation and Geomatics Engineering Foundation. One eligible student will receive the Fareed and Rosemarie Nader Persistence Award.

More than $1 million in scholarships has been awarded to geomatics students through the conference.

“Our student leadership has done such amazing work to organize this conference,” Rowley said. “I’m so proud of them, and we look forward to welcoming everyone.”

To purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/gmeconf64.