Merrick & Company Wins Grand Award in MAPPS Geospatial Excellence Awards Program
Written by MAPPS
20 November 2009
San Antonio, TX, November 20, 2009 - MAPPS (www.mapps.org) has recognized Merrick & Company as the winner of the association's third annual Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards competition for their "Levee Recertification Using Geospatial Technologies" project.
The "Project of the Year" was awarded during a ceremony at the ASPRS/MAPPS Specialty Conference in San Antonio, TX. The project, utilized aerial LiDAR technology and an advanced hydrographic survey to generate valuable elevation data for the City of Wichita, Kansas.
"The Merrick team did not merely think in terms of what had been done in the past; they actively pursued new ideas and pushed the envelope with new technologies to provide deliverables that would continue to add value for the client long after the immediate project was completed," said Robert Burch PS, CP (Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan), chairman of the independent judges panel.
MAPPS awarded winners in five technical categories. They were Intermap Technologies for "Intermap Technologies Completes NEXTMap Europe" in Airborne and Satellite Data Acquisition; Photo Science "Spatial Data Interoperability at the Florida Department of Transportation" in GIS/IT; Kappa Mapping, Inc. "Color Infrared Imagery Makes Accurate Vernal Pool Mapping Possible in Bar Harbor, Maine" in Small Projects; Optech Technologies "New Product Introduction in Hardware: ALTM Orion" in Technology Innovation; and Merrick & Company in the Photogrammetry/Elevation Data Generation category.
"Once again, MAPPS member firms have demonstrated the professionalism, innovation, and societal benefit that the private geospatial community provides to enhance our quality of life," said MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello. "Day in and day out, MAPPS member firms are providing quality services, data and technology products. The Excellence Awards are but one reminder of the valuable service our members perform. Merrick has once again been selected by our independent panel of judges for the Project of the Year. I am pleased to commend their achievement and that of all the firms that won, those who entered and those who serve their clients every day."
The judges for the program included Burtch; Dr. Pamela Lawhead, Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi; Dr. Adrian Moore, an economist at the Reason Foundation, Los Angeles, VA; Dennis Morgan, CP, retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, MO and Christine L. Grahl, editor for POB magazine and POBonline.com.
About MAPPS
Formed in 1982, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States. Current MAPPS memberships span the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing, surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, LIDAR, hydrography, bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world. MAPPS provides its 170+ member firms opportunities for networking and developing business-to-business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy advocacy, market growth, and professional development and image enhancement.
For more information on MAPPS, please visit www.MAPPS.org
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs