Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast

We are in the "dog days of summer" but NSPS rolls on with news from the legislative world! This episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" finds your host, Tim Burch, providing an update on proposed legislation for banning certain Chinese-made UAV systems. In this episode of "From the Director's Desk," he shares the latest updates on the proposed federal bills and observations on prior federal acts affecting Chinese technology. He also notes that surveyors need to keep their eyes out on other obstacles to the profession. Thanks for listening!

Two in a row for the USACE! "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" finds us have a great conversation with Mack McCarty, Community of Practice Lead for CAD-BIM, Topo Survey, and Hydro Survey at the US Army Corps of Engineers. Mack sat down with Tim Burch to discuss his exposure into surveying at an early age, and how it lead to a carer at the Corps. They discussed the importance of good people within the Corps to make successful projects that protect the public. Mack shared a bit of history of the Corps, so this is a chat you don't want to miss. Lots of survey nuggets in this one!

The Corps is in the house! We are back in the studio for this episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" with a special guest, Natalie Martinez-Vega, Surveyor/Training Specialist from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Army Geospatial Center. Natalie recently stopped at the NSPS headquarters to sit down with Tim Burch to share her "life in surveying" story. She also shared her introduction to surveying at the University of Puerto Rico, opportunities within the USACE, and how training and mentoring is key to helping practitioners become successful surveyors. A truly inspiring conversation, and and features our first ever "words of wisdom" message in Spanish!

For more information about a career in surveying with the USACE, visit USAjobs.gov.

This episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" previews a new documentary being filmed to capture the story behind the location, design, and construction of the Erie Canal. Our guest today is Tom Garber, owner of Third Wave Films in Long Island, NY, and the filmmaker behind the upcoming movie, "Creating the Erie Canal." Tom recently chatted with Tim Burch about his introduction to the subject matter, the research necessary to develop the script, and how surveyors played a large part in the overall project. They also talked about how filmmaking and surveying have progressed with technology, yet the basics of each discipline are still important to learn. A great conversation, and we can't wait for the film's release in early 2025!

If you would like to make a donation to help this film get finished up, please visit Tom's website: thirdwavefilms.com.

 

This week's episode of "Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast" begins the preparation for the surveying profession to make the move to a new dynamic datum that will replace NAD83 and NAVD 88. Our conversation with David Doyle, NGS Chief Geodetic Surveyor (Ret.) provides an introduction into why this significant step in making this datum "leap" is paramount to how surveyors will establish georeferenced data for generations to follow. A great opener into a series of talks about the new datums, so take a listen today!

For more information about the new datums and timeframes, visit the NGS website here:

https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/index.shtml

 

This week’s “Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast” is chockful of governmental affairs updates! With the recent events within the courts of Texas and our nation’s Supreme Court, NSPS Executive Director Tim Burch caught up with our Legislative Consultant, John Palatiello, to discuss the ramifications of these cases in regards to the Davis/Bacon Act. They also discussed the current status of the legislative effort to ban DJI UAV equipment in the US, so download the episode today to keep up on the latest surveying news!

Our final episode in our series featuring chats with FIG Young Surveyors from the recent FIG Working Week 2024 in Accra, Ghana is Angela Anykora from Nigeria and Roshni Sharma from Australia. They joined Tim Burch to chat about the Working Week and how the FIG Young Surveyors are engaging with the profession around the world. We were joined by Rosario Casanova, a surveying professor from Uruguay and Kwabena Asiama, former Chair of the FIG YSN and current Commission 8 Chair from Ghana. A lively conversation that features lots of topics yet captures the overall comradery of the Young Surveyors. This was a great way to wrap up our trip to Ghana, so check out our conversations from all our episodes today!

Continuing in our series of episodes featuring chats with Young Surveyors from the recent FIG Working Week 2024 in Accra, Ghana is Farrah Etcheverry from Arizona and Marcus Schmitt from Illinois. They joined Tim Burch to share their highlights of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the African continent and interaction with surveying contemporaries from around the world. Farrah and Marcus did a great job representing the USA and NSPS, so check out the conversation.

Next up in our series of episodes featuring conversations with Young Surveyors from the recent FIG Working Week 2024 in Accra, Ghana is Shirley Chapunza from Zimbabwe. She joined Tim Burch for an insight into her introduction as a surveyor, what led her to getting involved with the YSN at the local and international level, and how important mentoring is to surveyors new to the profession. Another great conversation, so check it out today!

We begin a series of episodes featuring conversations with Young Surveyors from around the world as captured at the recent FIG Working Week 2024 in Accra, Ghana. Firas Fahoum is a second generation surveyor from Nazareth, Israel with an incredible passion for our beloved profession. He joined Tim Burch for a chat to discuss his experiences, included working in one of the most historic regions in the world. A great listen, as they discussed the merging of old sacred environments now being measured using the latest in technology.