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GGE News - 2003

Fall 2003 Student Technical Conference

On 4 December, the department's graduate students participated in the semi-annual technical conference. Organized by Jonathan Beaudoin and Travis Wert, the event was deemed a great success. Papers in the first session concentrated on remote sensing and land information management. The second session's presentations covered geodesy and hydrography.

Click here to download the schedule of events, a 13 KB PDF document.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look at the conference attendees, 37 KB.

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Guatemala Delegation Tours Department

A delegation from UTJ/Proterria in Guatemala visited the department on 26 November. This visit was organised by the Centre for Property Studies (CPS) and was preceded by a day with CARIS and a day with Service New Brunswick.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look, 35 KB.

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Chilean Delegation Visits Department

Specialists from the municipalities of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, and from the Region V Government in Chile, were in the department on 17 and 18 November. The visit was organised by Industry Canada and the Centre for Property Studies (CPS). The purpose of the trip was to develop partnerships and share knowledge in information technology and connectivity. This is an area of priority defined under the Canada-Valparaíso-Viña del Mar Sustainable Cities Initiative.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look, 33 KB.

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Frank Rack Named Director of Ocean Drilling Programs

Our congratulations go out to former Ocean Mapping Group Post-Doctoral Fellow and Research Associate, Frank Rack. Frank joined the Department in November 1992 as a Post Doctoral Fellow. In 1995 he became a Research Associate, and was a valuable addition to the Ocean Mapping research program. Sadly for UNB and Canada, Frank returned to the United States in May 1998 and joined the Ocean Drilling Program (www.oceandrilling.org) as assistant director. We are proud to have had Frank as an associate for as long as we did.

Click on the thumbnail image to learn more about Frank and his new position.

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GPS and the Aurora Borealis

For more than 15 years, Prof. Richard Langley and his research team have been studying the effects of Earth's atmosphere on the propagation of GPS signals. This research has led to the development of algorithms to model the delay of the signals as they transit the neutral atmosphere (the troposphere and stratosphere) including one which is inside every GPS receiver which gets corrections from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The team has also developed techniques to use the GPS signals to study the structure of the ionized portion of the atmosphere -- the ionosphere. A large number of papers and reports documenting the UNB work has been published including a tutorial on space weather and its effects on GPS which appeared in his Innovation column in GPS World magazine.

During the past couple of weeks, the magnetosphere (the region around Earth controlled by its magnetic field) and the ionosphere have been buffeted by energetic particles hurled from the Sun in huge coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This resulted in extreme perturbations of the geomagnetic field and the ionosphere giving rise to high-frequency radio blackouts, tripping of electrical grid circuit breakers, damage to satellites, and reduced GPS positioning accuracies.

But the CMEs also resulted in beautiful and extensive aurora displays which were seen across Canada and even as far south as Texas in North America and Spain in Europe. The impressive display of red and green aurora over Fredericton on the evening of 30 October was captured on film.

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Second Canada-Brazil Lessons Learned Symposium

Drs. Marcelo Santos and Sue Nichols took part in the second Canada-Brazil Lessons Learned Symposium, sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). This symposium took place in Ottawa between 19 and 22 October. The symposium gathered participants from Brazil and Canada working on several CIDA-funded projects, including participants from UNB, NRCan, and IBGE (Brazil) who have submitted a technology transfer project related to the redefinition of the Brazilian geodetic datum. The participants exchanged experiences on Brazil-Canadian co-operation and lessons learned in these types of projects. A main topic was understanding how technology transfer can contribute to greater equity in Brazil.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at photos taken during the symposium, 115 KB.

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A Half Century of Global Satellite Navigation Systems from 1965 to 2015

David Wells, in his capacity as Professor Emeritus and Part-Time Lecturer in the Department visited the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, in early October. His presentation (as cited in the title to this piece) reviewed the history of and the concepts underlying satellite positioning. He presented his views on the current performance available using today's technology, and he predicted the many changes to come over the next 10 years as GPS is "modernized/re-invented," and complementary systems are put in place.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at the presentation announcement, 154 KB.

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Kim and Langley's Research Hits the Cover of October 2003's GIM International

Drs. Don Kim and Richard Langley have devised a way for ultrahigh-precision GPS positioning and navigation to be used for gantry crane auto-steering. This auto-steering system will improve productivity and safety at busy container ports. The guided crane has a horizontal accuracy of 1.5 cm. The first auto-steering system has been installed at a major container port in South Korea. For further information, see the 2002 news story "State of the Art GPS Guidance Software Developed at UNBF."

Click on the thumbnail image to look at the table of contents of the October 2003 issue of GIM International.

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Matthew Chandler Awarded a Scholarship by Focus

Matthew Chandler, a final year undergraduate student in the Department, has been awarded a scholarship of $8,000 by Focus Corporation. He also signed a contract with Focus to work for them for two years after graduating from UNB.

Matthew Chandler spent the last two summers working for Focus in Edmonton. During the academic year of 2002/2003 he worked as a part-time assistant in the Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering.

Our congratulations go out to Matthew.

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Anna B. O. Jensen Visits Department

Anna Jensen and Marcelo Santos pose for a picture, on 9 October, after Anna's seminar on weather models and global positioning systems coming together. Anna holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics and Mathematical Modeling at the Technical University of Denmark. Her current research is focused on the atmospheric effects on satellite signals.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look, and to read the seminar abstract and Anna's biography, 40 KB.

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CSL Heron in Town for Hands-On Experience

The Canadian Survey Launch Heron was docked at the Regent Street Wharf for the better part of a month this fall. She was brought through the Reversing Falls and up the river to Fredericton to be a teaching aid in a number of undergraduate courses. The pride of the Ocean Mapping Group, and the department as a whole, Heron was used by Dr. Marcelo Santos, Ph.D. candidate Karen Cove (see thumbnail), and the class enrolled in kinematic positioning to gather and interpret data from a number of sensors on board.

Heron was also used by Dr. John Hughes Clarke and his students enrolled in Imaging and Mapping II as an aid to the introduction of hydrography, depth determination, and bathymetric and imaging methods.

The story received TV coverage in the School Zone segment of the CBC's Canada Now program.

Click here to look at photos of the Heron at work, and here to learn all about the Heron.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look, 32 KB.

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Marine Cadastre Issues Discussed at UNB

In September, the Land and Coastal Studies Group, GGE, in conjunction with International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Commission 4, Working Group 4.3 held an international "Meeting on Marine Cadastre Issues" at the Wu Centre, UNB, Fredericton. There were delegates and speakers in attendance from Canada, the United States of America, Australia, The Netherlands, Malaysia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The meeting, held over two days between September 15th and 16th, was sponsored by UNB, FIG, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Terradigm, the Association of New Brunswick Land Surveyors, the Canadian Hydrographic Association, and the Canadian Institute of Geomatics.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at a collage of photos taken during the meeting, 72 KB.

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Hughes Clarke Participant in 25.7 Million Dollar ArcticNet NCE

At the end of August, Prof. John Hughes Clarke, Chair in Ocean Mapping, received confirmation that the ArcticNet Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) had been funded. At the same time, the refurbished and re-named Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, CCGS Amundsen, was unveiled in Quebec City. ArcticNet connects already established centres of excellence with research teams in the U.S.A., Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Belgium to study the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. Although Université Laval is the scientific leader of ArcticNet for the next four years (see http://www.newswire.ca/releases/August2003/26/c4568.html), the NCE will involve some 145 specialists in the natural, social, and medical sciences from 41 Canadian and foreign universities. For a fuller description of ArcticNet, see the ArcticNet Fact Sheet at http://www.nce.gc.ca/nces-rces/arcticnet_e.htm, the Government of Canada NCE site at http://www.nce.gc.ca/media/newsrel/2003/260803_e.htm, and Contact, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) publication.

The CCGS Amundsen, named in honour of Roald Amundsen (the first explorer to traverse the Northwest Passage and reach the South Pole), has been dedicated to the study of the changing Arctic. The former CCGS Franklin has been converted into a floating laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment at a cost of $30 million. See the recent story "UNB and the Northwest Passage Centenary (from our Hydrographer-in-Residence, Dave Monahan)" detailing what the Ocean Mapping Group is doing aboard the Amundsen right now.

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UNB and the Northwest Passage Centenary
(from our Hydrographer-in-Residence, Dave Monahan)

Most of the shoreline of Canada north of Labrador, at least as drawn on charts by European explorers, was mapped as part of the lengthy search for a sea trade route linking Europe with the Orient. In some cases, searching for lost explorers added considerably to the charted shoreline. The search for the Northwest Passage, a major event in the history of mapping of Canada, celebrates a centenary of sorts this year. In 1903, Roald Amundsen began the first successful crossing of what had hitherto proven to be an impassable waterway. Entering from the east, Amundsen deliberately froze his small sloop, the Gjoa, into the ice for two years while he made observations that helped confirm the movements of the north magnetic pole. With enough data in hand, he proceeded westward to Alaska and the Pacific, which he reached in 1906.

The Ocean Mapping Group of GGE has celebrated this event in geomatics history though partaking in not one, but two, voyages through the Northwest Passage. First, in August Hydrographer-in-Residence Dave Monahan made a transit of the passage aboard the U.S. Coast Guard's research icebreaker Healy, from Thule, Greenland, to Point Barrow, Alaska, by way of Prince of Wales Strait. He returned south in time to courier a tape of the multibeam data collected en route to Ocean Mapping Chair John Hughes Clarke and graduate student Jonathan Beaudoin who were leaving Quebec City aboard the newly-refurbished and re-named Canadian icebreaker Amundsen on her maiden voyage in her research role. As part of CASES2003-04 (Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study), the two GGE members will collect multibeam data in the southern Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to Tuktoyuktuk, NWT.

The Ocean Mapping group will undertake the multibeam mapping of much of the Passage from the Amundsen over the next several years. A sounding base layer using single beam data supplied by Canadian Hydrographic Service has been created, and the multibeam data will be plotted over it. This year's two transit lines should form the basis of surveys in future years. Being able to recreate, in a fashion, Amundsen's accomplishment of a century ago added to the satisfaction of obtaining new data where none had previously existed.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look at Roald Amundsen, 137 KB.

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CCGE Hosts Mini-Workshop on New Technologies in Engineering Surveys

Adam Chrzanowski and his Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering (CCGE) ran an internal, two-day, workshop at the end of August, attracting about 30 people from the University. Guest speakers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU), from Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and from C-CORE Corporation of Newfoundland participated in the workshop. Two of the speakers are former GGE graduate students. Dr. Chen Yong-qi (Ph.D. 1983) is Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He discussed the current research projects being undertaken in his Department. Julio Leal (B.Sc.E. 1981; M.Sc.E. 1989) spoke about the engineering surveys being conducted at PDVSA oil fields. Also participating were Dr. Xiaoli Ding, of HKPU, and James Youdan, of C-CORE, who reviewed progress in the application of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) in ground subsidence and slope stability studies.

CCGE graduate students and staff presented papers on such topics as ALERT, a fully automated monitoring system; problems and solutions concerning use of pseudolites; and physical interpretation of deformation surveys. Dr. Chrzanowski described the current activities in which CCGE is involved.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look at some of the attendees, 29 KB.

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Fourteen GGE Undergraduates Make Dean's List

Our students made an excellent showing in 2003 with 14 students from all years of the program deserving a place on the list. Assessments of grade point averages of students are undertaken each spring provided that a minimum of 24 ch have been completed by the students. An assessment grade point average of 3.7 or higher must be achieved to make the list.

First Year Mr. Anders E. Akerberg
  Mr. Ivan D. Detchev
  Ms. Erin L. Grass (combined B.C.S. and B.Sc.E.)
Second Year Ms. Robyn Fraser
  Mr. Ryan W. Seguin
Third Year Mr. Regan Rayner
Fourth Year Mr. Corey M. Collins
Final Year Mr. Jason E. Bartlett
  Mr. Wade MacNutt
  Ms. Katie M. Munroe
  Mr. Jonathan D. Phillips
  Mr. Eric M. Quirion
  Mr. Kevin R. D. Smith
  Mr. Cory R. Tucker
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Mixed Feelings on Linda O'Brien's Departure

On the 20th of June GGE bid a very fond but sad farewell to Linda O'Brien. Linda, as graduate studies assistant, has been with the Department for 7 years and with Electrical Engineering before that for 7 years. Linda, however, has obtained an excellent job as the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Kinesiology and Kinesiology Graduate Students. So it is sad for us to lose her, but gratifying that she has been able to move along in her career.

You can find Linda at her office in the Lady Beaverbrook Gym, where she is just a few steps away from the pool for those very hot, humid summer days in Fredericton.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at photos taken during a going-away get-together, 136 KB.

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Beth-Anne Martin and Shawn Benteau Scholarship Winners

GGE announces with pleasure that TWO of this year's Geomatics Atlantic Scholarships were awarded to applicants from GGE. We would like to congratulate Beth-Anne Martin and Shawn Benteau both of whom won $1000 scholarships from this fund. Beth-Anne is in her final year of the program and Shawn is in his third year.

There is usually an intense competition for these scholarships from university and community college students in institutions across the region. We hope everyone will join with us in congratulating Beth-Anne and Shawn on this important achievement.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at photos taken during the scholarship presentation, 39 KB.

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Undergraduate Exchange Agreement with Hong Kong Polytechnic University

In June UNB and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University signed an undergraduate exchange agreement. Under this agreement a student from UNB will earn credit hours while studying in and experiencing Hong Kong. The Polytechnic University's Bachelor of Science (honours) in surveying and geoinformatics is accredited by RICS, which assures you of a quality education.

To cover the increased costs of living in Hong Kong, compared to Fredericton, the Department of Land Surveying and GeoInformatics will sponsor up to two exchange students to the value of HK$16,000 (about CAN$2800) each.

Any student interested in this exchange should contact either Dr. Dare or Dr. Secord.

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UNB Geomatics Program Accredited by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

The process of seeking accreditation for our undergraduate program by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was concluded on 9 June 2003. The RICS International Partnership and Accreditation Board gave final approval for the accreditation of the B.Sc.E. (Geomatics Engineering) degree. This ratified the recommendation made on 4 April and reported in an earlier news item.

Not only has our undergraduate program been accredited but, exceptionally, this has been backdated to the 2001 first-year entry.

Our B.Sc.E. degree is the first geomatics degree to be accredited by RICS in North America. Our university is the first university in Canada to have any degree accredited by RICS. Our own accreditation allows us to join the RICS global network of accredited courses and individual members.

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Leo Hayes Grade 12 Students Geocache at UNB

Buried treasure at UNB? Probably not. However, Shane Hoyt's Leo Hayes High School grade 12 geography class found caches - prize packages - using GPS receivers.

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New GGE Course-Only Masters of Engineering Option

Approved on 14 May 2003 by the Executive Committee of the School of Graduate Studies is our course-only Masters of Engineering degree. This new option means that a student can substitute the research report component of the current M.Eng. degree with 6 credit hours of courses. This new degree is available to both full- and part-time students, to recent graduates, and to others who may wish to return to studies after a few years away.

The current report-based UNB Masters of Engineering regulations require the candidate to submit a report the topic of which has been approved by the Graduate Academic Unit (GAU). Additionally, the candidate must complete a GAU-approved minimum of 24 credit hours of courses. The minimum time to complete this degree is one calendar year, but typically takes longer as the research and report writing can involve many months of work.

A course-only M.Eng. differs from our conventional graduate degrees in several important aspects:

 

 

Students entering the course-only M.Eng. will be required to join the program during either the Fall or Winter terms only. Application to this degree can be made through the School of Graduate Studies. Go to www.unb.ca/gradstudies/admissions/index.html to find out how to apply.

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Dave Wells in the News Again

On 12 May, The Sun Herald of Biloxi, Mississippi, published an article on Dave's contribution to the hydrography program at the University of Southern Mississippi. The article also mentions the important link to UNB.

Click on the thumbnail image to get the complete story.

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Kouchibouguac Site of 2003's Practicum II

Following on the success of previous practicums, this year's practicum (a.k.a. survey camp) was based upon a combination of the following:


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UNB Hydrographer-in-Residence Elected GEBCO Chair

General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)At its recent annual meeting in Monaco, the Guiding Committee of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) elected Dave Monahan as its chair.

GEBCO is an international project to map the floors of the world ocean. Jointly sponsored by the International Hydrographic Bureau and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, GEBCO attracts participants from government agencies and universities in over thirty countries.

The project celebrated its centenary along with its annual meeting, with the presentation of papers both looking back over the last hundred years and ahead to the next century. (Authors included GGE's Dave Wells and Dave Monahan). GEBCO's most recent accomplishment is the publication of a new digital atlas which contains the latest depth contours and a uniform grid of depth values for the entire world.

Click here to read Dave's inauguration speech (a 57 KB PDF document).

Click on the thumbnail image to learn more about GEBCO.

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Congratulations to Beth-Anne Martin

Beth-Anne Martin is the recipient of one of eight Geomatics Canada Scholarships awarded this year. She is a fourth-year undergraduate student in GGE.

Geomatics Canada scholarships are funded by GeoConnections (http://cgdi.gc.ca/) and Geomatics Canada (http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/geocan/) and administered annually by the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG) (http://www.cig-acsg.ca/page.asp). A limited number of these prestigious scholarships are awarded every year to students on the basis of high-quality academic performance and professional interests.

Peter Dare, department chair, commenting on the award, said, "I want to commend all the GGE students who submitted applications for this scholarship, and I want to encourage everyone to consider trying for one of these scholarships in the future."

Please join us in congratulating Beth-Anne on this important achievement.

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Ping Ping Xie Wins NSERC Scholarship

It is with delight we announce that Ping Ping Xie, a GGE M.Sc.E. student, has won a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council scholarship valued at $17,300 per year for two years. Ms. Xie is carrying out her research under the supervision of Dr. Yun Zhang.

This year there were 2800 applicants for the 1700 awards. We congratulate Ping Ping on her achievement.

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UNB Signs Research Agreement with Japanese GNSS Technology Institute

The University of New Brunswick has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine to cooperate in the research and development of satellite positioning techniques.

This agreement further enhances the UNB Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering's role as one of the world's leading academic research centres in the field of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

Cooperation with the Tokyo university's Global Navigation Satellite System Research and Development Center, which is managed by GNSS Technologies, Inc., will include work on real-time kinematic software, multipath interference reduction algorithms, and indoor positioning systems and other topics of mutual interest.

The agreement also paves the way for the exchange of academic and technical staff between the two universities and provides opportunities for student exchanges.

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Dave Coleman Portrait Hanging

Although it took a while, Dave Coleman's visage finally graces the "rogues gallery" leading to the main GGE office.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at photos taken during the celebration of his term as GGE Chair, 137 KB.

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Duncan Moss, Ordnance Survey, Visits the Department

The Department was home for a week to Duncan Moss, Government Account Manager (Scotland) for the Ordnance Survey. An Honorary Fellow in the Department of Geography at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, he is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. During his stay, Duncan gave a Brown Bag Lecture entitled "Tales of a botanist, a surveyor, and a geographer: Mapping the savannas of northern Belize."

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look, 38 KB.

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NSERC Discovery Grant Recipients

Congratulations to Dave Coleman, Richard Langley, Marcelo Santos, and Petr Vaníček, who were successful in having their NSERC Discovery Grants renewed for an additional four years. These grants are especially important to the Department, as they are often the key to getting funding from additional sources. The success of the four professors enables us to once again proudly say that every one of our professors has an NSERC Discovery Grant.

Click on the thumbnail image to learn more about NSERC Discovery Grants.

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Department Seeks RICS Accreditation

The process of seeking accreditation for our undergraduate program by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) began during the summer of 2002. Our submission (3.5-inch binder of information) to RICS in December 2002 resulted in a team visit from the Western Partnership and Accreditation Board on 4 April 2003. The team toured our facilities, and met with faculty, alumni/ae, and students. We were fortunate to have both UNB's President, John McLaughlin, and Dean of Engineering, Dave Coleman, make time in their busy schedules to spend the lunch hour with the team. If successful, the undergraduate program would be the first RICS accredited institution in Canada and the first geomatics program accredited in North, South, and Central America.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a look at the team, 23 KB.

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UNB GGE a Big Player in U.S. Hydro 2003 Conference

The 2003 U.S. Hydro Conference was held in Biloxi, Mississippi, from 24-27 March. Seventeen of the 54 papers had an author or authors with a connection to GGE. They were either current or former faculty members, current or former graduate students, or current UNB campus colleagues. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Naval Oceanographic Office, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Western Dredging Association, the Canadian Hydrographic Service, and the Canadian Hydrographic Association were the sponsors of the conference.

Click on the thumbnail image to look at the conference program.

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New GPS Receivers

Congratulations to the Department's undergraduate students on their successful application to the Engineering Endowment Fund (EEF) for equipment funding - they were awarded $1520. The Geomatics Undergraduate Engineering Student Society applied to the EEF for funding four handheld GPS receivers to be used as part of a proposed recruitment drive 'GeoFest 2003' in the fall. GeoFest 2003 would see high school students coming to campus and using the receivers in a scavenger hunt.

Click on the thumbnail image to learn more about the EEF.

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Angus Hamilton Lecture 2003 - Geographic Profiling

The Angus Hamilton Lecture series was initiated in 1994. It is intended to promote the use of geomatics and geographic information systems (GIS) in the Maritimes. Angus Hamilton, UNB Professor Emeritus, is a past chair of GGE, and continues to contribute to the well being of the Department. The lecture series is in honour of Angus's extensive contribution to land information management in the region.

This year's speaker will be D/Sgt. Brad Moore, Geographic Profiling Unit Manager, with the Ontario Provincial Police. Geographic profiling is the process of identifying the base of operations of a criminal based on the geographic pattern of the criminal activities. It uses computer-based mapping (GIS), statistics, behavioural science, and criminal investigation techniques to help police agencies solve crimes.

D/Sgt. Brad Moore is one of only seven qualified geographic profilers in the world. He has used geographic profiling to help with investigations in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia. He regularly lectures at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer and the Ontario Provincial Police Academy in Orillia.

The lectures will take place as follows:

Update:

A good crowd turned out in Fredericton where a reception followed the very interesting presentation. Click on the thumbnail image for a better look at Angus Hamilton (left) and D/Sgt. Moore, 24 KB. (Photo: Richard Langley, 2003-March-27)

The 2003 lecture series is sponsored by the Geomatics Association of Nova Scotia (GANS), the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG), Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, Service New Brunswick, and GGE. For further information, contact event organizers Stephen Hartley in Fredericton (506-458-8266) or David Pitcher in Dartmouth (902-434-8063).

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2003 Student Technical Conference

This year's technical conference and Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG) paper competition will take place on 21 and 24 March 2003 in the Dineen Auditorium of Head Hall. There will be presentations by senior undergraduate students as well as students in the graduate degree programs. This year the usual GGE and New Brunswick Branch of the CIG sponsors are being joined by the Focus Corporation, and by the Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering. Starting at 11:00 a.m. each of the two mornings, there will be sessions on Land Information Management and GIS, on Hydrography and Ocean Mapping, on Cadastral and Engineering Surveys, on Remote Sensing, and on GPS. The final schedule of events will be available on the GGE Web site on Thursday morning, 20 March.

After the final session on Monday, the CIG Student Paper Competition will swing into action. This year we are really pleased to announce new prizes for this competition. The New Brunswick Branch of the CIG has kindly donated the undergraduate first prize of $1,000.00. The second and third prizes come from GGE. The second prize will be $200.00 and third prize will be $100.00. The winner of the paper competition in the graduate-student category will take home $500.00 donated by Focus Corporation, while second place wins $300.00 and third place will receive $200.00 donated by the Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering.

If you are within driving distance of Fredericton, come one come all to the conference. On Monday, 24 March, there will be a reception in the Faculty Lounge on C level of Head Hall following the conference.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look at the conference organizers, 35 KB.

Click here to download the conference program, a 25 KB Microsoft Word document.

Update:

This year's Student Technical Conference was held on 21 and 24 March in the Dineen Auditorium, Head Hall. There were a total of 28 presenters: 15 graduate students and 13 undergraduates. The topic areas included: Remote sensing and GPS; Land Information Management; GIS; hydrography and ocean mapping; and surveying.

The conference was organized by two Ph.D. candidates: Garfield Giff and Sam Ng'ang'a, with substantial assistance from Linda O'Brien and Kim Delorey. It was a huge success, attended by friends from industry and government, as well as a large group of faculty, staff, and students.

More ...

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Yun Zhang and Family Become Canadian Citizens

Our congratulations go to Dr. Yun Zhang and his family. They became Canadian Citizens on 12 March 2003. The T-shirt and pin (on the collar of the T-shirt) shown in this photo were a gift to Dr. Zhang from Fredericton MP, Andy Scott. Dr. Zhang has been a bit of a world traveller on his route to Canadian citizenship. After completing his Masters' degree in China, he obtained his Ph.D. at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, in 1997. He worked at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) until early 1999 when he accepted a research associate position at The University of Calgary. Dr. Zhang joined our Department in January 2000. At the celebratory party, Dr. Zhang cut the cake and spread the bounty among faculty, staff, and students.

Family photo by Y.C. Lee, 2003-March-12. Others by Sam Ng'ang'a, 2003-March-13.

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GGE Publications Now Available on CD

We can now offer you two formats of our publications. The hard copy version continues to be available. We now offer a CD version. Each new report will be on an individual CD; at the end of the year we will gather that year's reports onto an "annual" CD. The individual reports in both hard copy and CD format will cost the same. The annual CD will cost the same as an annual subscription. The CD version is available for all publications STARTING with No. 212 published in 2002.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look at Kim Delorey who takes care of GGE publications, 11 KB. (Photo: Terry Arsenault, 2002-November-5)

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Christine Delbridge Winner of GeoConnections Competition

Christine Delbridge is a 5th year student in the Computer Science/Geomatics Engineering concurrent degree program. At the beginning of March 2003, she was named one of seven winners of the GeoTech Student Sponsorship Competition. This means that she has an all-expenses paid trip to GeoTec 2003 in Vancouver, B.C., between 16 and 19 March. Our thanks go to GeoConnections for their support of the contest, and our congratulations go to Christine. We wish her well on her trip to the convention.

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Bronwyn Cox Wins ACLS Trip

Bronwyn Cox is one of two winners of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS) Student Sponsorship competition. Bronwyn now has an all-expenses paid trip to the ACLS 2003 Annual Meeting and Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 12-14 March 2003 courtesy of GeoSkills, part of the GeoConnections initiative. Congratulations Bronwyn!

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John Hughes Clarke on Discovery Channel

John Hughes Clarke and GGE's survey launch, Heron, were featured on the Discovery Channel's Great Canadian Rivers episode on the Saint John River, which aired between 6 and 10 March 2003. (The Discovery Channel is Canada's cable TV science and technology channel.) Dr. Hughes Clarke and Heron were mapping the riverbed at the Reversing Falls in Saint John. Stay tuned for some clips from the show.

Click on the thumbnail image to visit the Discovery Channel's Web site.

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John Hughes Clarke Tests Multibeam Sonar Survey Suite for Royal Navy

John Hughes Clarke has just completed Capability Acceptance Trials for the multibeam sonar survey suite on board HMS Echo. HMS Echo (H87) is the first of two ships (Echo and Enterprise) of a new class of Multi-Role Hydrographic and Oceanographic survey vessel delivered to the Royal Navy this year. She is a 90 m long, 3500 ton vessel, equipped with an integrated survey system including a Simrad EM1002 multibeam echo sounder.

The trials were performed on behalf of the Directorate of Naval Surveying, Oceanography and Meteorology (DNSOM), U.K. Ministry of Defence. Dr. Hughes Clarke conducted the trials on board HMS Echo from the 20th to 27th of February 2003. During that time the ship's personnel performed calibration and analysis testing under UNB guidance over target-populated terrains and reference surfaces in the western English Channel. The aim of the trials was to establish:

The UNB multibeam experiments represented the final phase of the acceptance trials for the vessel. She was formally commissioned into the fleet on Friday, 7 March 2003. She will work in worldwide front-line operational roles, including support for mine warfare and amphibious operations, and will undertake specialist surveying tasks.

Related links about the survey vessels:
Naming
http://www.mod.uk/dpa/pressoffice/echo_named.htm
Commissioning
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/rn/content.php3?page=1&article=673
Capability
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/3490.html

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look at the HMS Echo, 28 KB.

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Everything Old is New(s) Again

The Department was advised in February 2003 that it had received the final Research Ranking of One (1) for the 2000-2001 academic year. This ranking is based on research productivity, publication record, number of graduate students, levels of funding, participation in research projects, dissemination of research results, and other criteria. Consistent with past performance, this top ranking of 1 has been our placing ever since the ranking exercise began in 1980.

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Earl Epstein is 4th Fulbright Chair in Property Studies

On 5 February 2003, the UNB Centre for Property Studies announced the arrival of its 4th Fulbright Chair in Property Studies. Dr. Earl Epstein is visiting from the School of Natural Resources at Ohio State University and will be with the Centre for the 2002/2003 winter term. Dr. Epstein graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in 1961 and in 1968 he obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied physical chemistry and chemical bonding in organometallic molecules by single crystal x-ray diffraction. After postdoctoral work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, he joined the physical chemistry faculty at Colorado State University.

He returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he worked in the Institute for Environmental Studies while attending law school. After graduating with a J.D. degree in 1977, he worked for the environmental affairs section of Wisconsin Power and Light where he represented the company in federal and state hearings in regard to air, water, and waste statutes and regulations.

He subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Maine Geographic Engineering department where he focused on cadastral and environmental studies. He moved to the School of Natural Resources at Ohio State University in 1988. His research has focused on the legal, economic, and administrative aspects of land information, especially the role of land information on the distribution of power to influence decisions about land and its resources.

Dr. Epstein can be reached by calling 506-447-3344.

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Dare Receives CFI Certificate

On 22 January the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) recognized 15 new UNB researchers for their potential to contribute research that will benefit Canada. Suzanne Duval, CFI's institutional relations coordinator, presented a New Opportunities Certificate to Peter Dare recognizing his success in obtaining support from the New Opportunities Fund. This fund helps universities to provide infrastructure for new faculty members to speed up the process of their getting involved in leading-edge research.

Click on the thumbnail image to get a better look, 33 KB. (Photo: Joy Cummings, 2003-January-22)

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Boipuso Nkwae Awarded Two Scholarships

Boipuso, a GGE Ph.D. candidate, was recently informed in January 2003 that he is the recipient of a graduate scholarship from the Alberta Land Surveyors Association and a grant from the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG). The $5,000 annual scholarship is open to a student enrolled in a masters or doctoral program at a Canadian university. The candidates must demonstrate that their thesis, report, or course work pertains to the study of cadastral surveying. The US$1,093.00 grant that Boipuso received from the FIG Foundation was one of 12 awarded to applicants from 10 countries (Canadian applications won two grants). We extend our congratulations to Boipuso for this recognition of his scholarly abilities.

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