MALSCE News
A monthly Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and
Civil Engineers member newsletter.

June 2021
MALSCE Sustaining Members: AirWorks Solutions Inc., Allen & Major Associates, Inc.,
Beals and Thomas Inc., Bluesky Geospatial Limited, Brennan Consulting, Inc., BSC Group, Inc., Carlson Software,
Donovan Hatem LLP, DGT Associates, Eastern Topographics, Feldman Land Surveyors,
Hancock Associates, Keystone Precision Instruments, Maine Technical Source,
Nitsch Engineering, Samiotes Consultants Inc., Spiller's, Topcon Solutions Store,
VHB, Inc., Waypoint Technology Group
MALSCE Events
Feature Extraction with the AEC Collection

Friday, July 30, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Zoom Video Webinar*

Speakers:
Joseph Whitney, Regional Account Executive, Topcon Solutions Store 
Joshua Hickey, Application Specialist, Topcon Solutions Store

Join us for the Feature Extraction Presentation brought to you by Topcon Solutions. Observe as Joseph Whitney, regional account executive, and Josh Hickey, application specialist, give us the run down on a feature extraction workflow for drone and scan data. In this webcast we will explore how this data is taken into ReCap for processing, Infraworks for feature extraction, and ultimately Civil3D for design and editing. We can even share this data in the cloud for remote access and collaboration. 

Missed This Popular Webinar? See the Recording.
Grid to Ground and the NGS Geodetic Tool Kit

Speakers:
A. Richard Vannozzi, University of Maine

If the earth were flat, you wouldn’t need to participate in this webinar. The reality, however, is that modern surveying technology, such as GPS, takes measurements on the “round” earth but most of our projects are modeled and built on a flat earth. This webinar will cover the basic “round earth-flat earth” problem, and common pitfalls encountered in moving between the round and flat earth in our onboard software solutions. The National Geodetic Survey’s online geodetic tool kit to will be introduced as a practical and reliable independent check of our software and hardware configurations. This webinar is intended for those technicians and licensed professionals who work in this realm and wish to augment their understanding.

A recording of this webinar will be available to registrants until August 24, 2021. If you are interested in viewing the recording, please email Emily Devane at edevane@engineers.org.

MALSCE Updates
Watch Out for Your FY22 MALSCE Dues Invoice

MALSCE dues invoices for Fiscal Year 2022 will be mailed out during July. Prompt payment of your dues invoice will ensure that you continue to receive the numerous benefits that MALSCE has to offer through June 30, 2022. These include membership in the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) for a nominal fee; discounted registration fees for MALSCE-sponsored programs; invitations to discussions during which you can engage with and learn from your peers; opportunities to have input on legislative and regulatory matters impacting the land surveying and civil engineering professions; and periodic email communications that keep you informed about your chosen profession.

Should you have any questions regarding your dues, please email malsce@engineers.org.
MALSCE Government Affairs Update - June 2021

Click here for Government Affairs activities and news for MALSCE members. Learn more about Engineers and Land Surveyors Virtually at the State House, recent MA Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors discussions, and updates on relevant bills. You can also visit MALSCE's Covid-19 resources and guidance for MALSCE members for recent news about the pandemic.
Help MALSCE Create a STEM Presentation for Students

At the request of MALSCE leaders, MALSCE member Lauren Angell from WSP is currently working with other members to create presentation to promote land survey/geospatial as a career choice to students. The goal is to create a PowerPoint slide deck with script and activities that will be available to MALSCE members for the purpose of making presentations to secondary school students. It is important for the future of our industry to keep young people engaged and aware of land survey/geospatial as career option.
 
As part of the slide deck development effort, Lauren is looking to create an image library. Accordingly, we are asking MALSCE members to submit graphic images that are not copyright protected for use in the slideshow. Specifically, are requesting images that show land surveyors at work, unique site locations, or work in progress. For development of the slide deck to remain on schedule, these images need to be uploaded for review prior to July 1st. Please email edevane@engineers.org for information on how to submit images. 
Be Sure to Fill Out Massachusetts Surveyor Survey and Encourage Others to as Well

Analyzing data obtained from the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and other sources, MALSCE Education Trust Chair Thadd Eldredge, PLS, CFM, from East-SouthEast LLC has created an overview of the geographic distribution of licensed land surveys in the Commonwealth. Utilizing licensed dates and some assumptions about length of practice and age, Thadd has also made future projections about the number of surveyors by municipality. This research can be viewed at https://www.ese-llc.com/surveyor-stats.
 
Looking to verify and add to the aforementioned demographic analysis, Thadd is asking MALSCE members to participate in a "Surveyor Survey." Click here to learn how in just a few minutes you can add to this important analysis of the future of the land surveying practice.
Fall 2021 Surveying Education Options at University of Maine

No surveyor should not have educational opportunities no matter their location. The University of Maine will continue to accept applications for the fall semester until mid-August.

Our current online options and how to apply can be viewed at https://online.umaine.edu/surveying/. They are:
(1) Undergraduate certificate in surveying engineering technology
(2) BS in surveying engineering technology (ABET ETAC accredited)
(3) Graduate certificate in surveying engineering
(4) Professional Science Masters in Engineering and Business surveying engineering option

Out-of-state students enrolled in a UMaineOnline degree or certificate program receive a low tuition e-rate which is in-state*1.25.

Questions on admission to the certificate, or other UMaineOnline programs, should be emailed to tiffany.peterson@maine.edu. Surveying-specific questions should be directed to SVT program director ray.hintz@maine.edu
Surveying Education Opportunities
 
MALSCE is happy to share with members any information it learns about surveying education opportunities. As noted above, UMaine has several different surveying degree and certificate programs available online. Wentworth has an online Professional Land Surveying Certificate program click here to learn more. Idaho State University has recently announced online options for their surveying and geospatial program, click here to learn more.
NSPS News
NSPS Evolving Demographics Poll Results

NSPS would like to thank everyone who participated in the poll last fall. This data will help with one of NSPS' main goals which is creating awareness that a career in surveying is available to anyone. This data will also help them understand how they can improve on promoting a career in surveying and encourage others to do outreach in their communities.

Click here for 2016 Results | 2020 Results 
Become a Certified Survey Technician

No matter what the future holds, prepare to meet challenges head on. Future-proof your resume by becoming a Certified Survey Technician (CST). This unique four-level certification program indicates official recognition by NSPS that a person can perform surveying tasks at a specific technical level. Show what you can do! Decide between the field or office track. Visit http://www.cstnsps.com for details.
Check Out "Surveyor Says" NSPS' Podcast

Want to hear from the movers and shakers of the surveying profession? Each week, NSPS brings you conversations with the trendsetters and difference-makers that are helping to shape the world of surveying. Your hosts, NSPS Executive Director Curt Sumner and NSPS President-Elect Tim Burch sit down with various personalities to discuss all things surveying, all bundled in a 30-minute conversation.

Download episodes of "Surveyor Says! - The NSPS Podcast" from your favorite streaming providers or find them at NSPS' podcast hosting site, Podbean. Watch NSPS' social media outlets for upcoming episode news and contests/giveaways on special occasions. 

And remember - "It's a great day to be a surveyor."
Affiliate Association Events
CT Association of Land Surveyors Presents:
Light Detecting And Ranging (LIDAR) For Land Surveyors--- A Webinar

Thursday, July 8, 2021
8:30 AM- 12:30 PM 

Speaker:
Ray Hintz, PhD, University of Maine
Lidar has become an exciting alternative to ground survey and photogrammetric techniques in mapping applications. Fixed wing aircraft Lidar has the ability to penetrate foliage and thus obtain a ground elevation model in forested areas. In the last two years the amount of Lidar based Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has been cutting into the UAV photogrammetric market. One needs to understand how survey grade kinematic GPS-IMU is used in conjunction with the Lidar to obtain survey grade accuracies. Ground based static Lidar is a mainstay of certain mapping applications. But mobile Lidar (ground vehicle mounted) with GPS-IMU is cutting into the static Lidar niche. The complications of resolving survey grade GPS-IMU in urban situations where GPS signal is random needs to be discussed and how much survey control may be required to resolve the issue.

Save the Date!
VSLS Fall Conference 2021

Friday, September 17, 2021
Okemo Mountain Resort, Ludlow, VT

Save the Date!
CALS 2021 Annual Meeting

Friday, November 5, 2021

Look to Future Emails for More Information
Classifieds
Licensed Land Surveyor - GM2 Associates Inc.
GM2 Associates Inc. is a privately-owned consulting engineering firm providing services to municipal, state, federal, and private clients within the built, transportation, and energy industry.
We are currently hiring for the position of Licensed Land Surveyor (PLS) within our Somerville, Massachusetts office location. Ideal candidates are team players that are self-motivated, have strong written and oral communication skills, and a desire to grow professionally. Experience with GPS, Total Station, and in AutoCAD and Microstation. Drone survey and licensing within RI a plus. This position will require travel. A quality company vehicle, fuel card and reimbursable expenses to be provided. Projects to include urban and large infrastructure, both design and construction phases.
GM2 offers competitive salaries, benefits, and opportunities for career growth. This position offers a six-figure salary and sign-on bonus.
GM2 is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage qualified minority, female, veteran and disabled candidates to apply and be considered for open positions. We do not discriminate against any applicant for employment, or any employee because of race, color, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, disability, age or military status.
MALSCE News is a monthly publication of the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers. This newsletter highlights the program and activities of MALSCE and reports on national and local matters of interest to land surveyors and civil engineers. While we cannot promise to print all news items that we receive, if you have one to share with your fellow MALSCE members please forward it to Rich Keenan at rkeenan@engineers.org.
Questions or comments?
Emily Devane,  One Walnut Street, Boston, MA 02108, edevane@engineers.org 
P: 617/227-5551 | F: 617/227-6783, www.MALSCE.org