News

Lee Approved for NOAA Grant to Forecast Inundation Extents January 18, 2021 For University of Houston professor Hyongki Lee, living firsthand through the calamity and destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 has shaped his research interests, and brought to...	For University of Houston professor Hyongki Lee, living firsthand through the calamity and destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 has shaped his research interests, and brought to the forefront how important the need for a forecast flood extent can be... Continue reading at Cullen College of Engineering.
Long-Time Director of NCALM, Ramesh Shrestha, Hanging Up His Lidar Wings December 22, 2020 Dr. Ramesh Shrestha Retiring Dr. Ramesh Shrestha will retire in January 2021 after 35 years in academia – the last 17 as Director of the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping. Ramesh...	Dr. Ramesh Shrestha Retiring Dr. Ramesh Shrestha will retire in January 2021 after 35 years in academia – the last 17 as Director of the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping. Ramesh has had an immeasurable impact on the applications of lidar to both science and education. NCALM has acquired airborne data for hundreds of projects all over the globe, enabling the research of hundreds of investigators, under his leadership. Ramesh was also instrumental in the establishment of a graduate program in Geosensing Systems Engineering & Sciences at the University of Houston. A letter of farewell to the community from Ramesh can be found here. Despite the retirement of our founding director, mentor, and friend, the NCALM team, now led by Craig Glennie, aims for a continued improvement of the service we provide to the broad research community, with a range of sensor and platform options and community initiatives, such as cost-distributed campaigns for Mesoamerica and Alaska. Seed proposals are currently being solicited for 2020 (ncalm.cive.uh.edu/news/ncalm-invites-graduate-students-submit-2020-seed-proposals), with a deadline of December 31, and NCALM has released a community expression of interest for projects in Alaska for Summer 2021 (ncalm.cive.uh.edu/news/call-expressions-interest-alaska-airborne-lidar-campaign). Anyone interested in airborne or remotely piloted system (sUAS) lidar for their projects should contact the new Director of NCALM at clglennie [at] uh.edu.
Call for Expressions of Interest for Alaska Airborne Lidar Campaign December 4, 2020 Alaska Airborne Lidar Campaign for Small- and Medium-Sized Projects The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping is announcing a call for expressions of interest from researchers with...	Alaska Airborne Lidar Campaign for Small- and Medium-Sized Projects The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping is announcing a call for expressions of interest from researchers with small- to medium-sized projects and budgets in Alaska for Summer 2021. NCALM has received numerous inquiries from researchers with small projects in Alaska over the years. The size of these projects and their associated budgets make them economically and practically unfeasible. It is possible to survey small projects, and bring large benefits to the broader community, if several small projects are grouped together and the mobilization costs are distributed, however. Project mobilization is also aided by larger projects funded by other sources. NCALM has initial commitments for flights near Anchorage, AK. We are looking for additional projects to complement these sites. The smallest individual project budget that will be considered is $10,000. Exact coverage will be determined based on collection density, distance to airports, neighboring projects, and other factors. Send a short description of your project, potential budget, and KMZ of your study area if you have interest in participating in a community collection campaign. Projects must be research focused and can include, but are not limited to, glaciology, geology, hydrology, and seismology. Please contact us for more information about the campaign and forward this announcement to other researchers that may have an interest in such data collection. The more projects that are organized together, the larger the areas that can be collected for individual projects. NCALM plans to perform data collection in Summer 2021. Contact NCALM at ncalm [at] egr.uh.edu for more information. Notes: NCALM is not providing the budget or funds to perform mapping. We are organizing a campaign to optimize the funds researchers currently have or can obtain. If you are interested in pursuing cooperative work, please send NCALM a response that includes a KMZ of your study area, a one-to-two paragraph description of your research objectives, and a budget of your potentially available funds. NCALM will work with PIs to develop a plan to allow data collection in their focus area. Deadlines: NCALM is requesting a preliminary commitment by May 1, 2021, so we can begin logistics and flight planning. A final commitment and confirmation of funds will be requested by June 1, 2021, so the mapping campaign can be executed during Summer 2021.
Geosensing Systems Engineering Seeks New Tenure-Track Faculty November 12, 2020 Geosensing Systems Engineering & Sciences Program Seeks Tenure-Track Faculty for Assistant Professor The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of...	Geosensing Systems Engineering & Sciences Program Seeks Tenure-Track Faculty for Assistant Professor The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Houston invites applications for one full-time, tenure-track faculty position in the Geosensing Systems Engineering & Sciences (GSES) program. Applicant Qualifications: The applicant must have an earned Ph.D. in geomatics, geodetic science, or a related field of civil, environmental, aerospace, or mechanical engineering with some working knowledge and expertise in one or more of the following: machine learning and artificial intelligence, synthetic aperture radar, satellite geodesy, GNSS, lidar, hyper-spectral imaging, photogrammetry and machine vision, signal processing or optics, and remote sensing instrument design and development. University and Department: The University of Houston is located in a park-like campus a few minutes from downtown Houston with over 37,000 undergraduate students and 9,000 graduate students. The CEE department currently has 21 tenured or tenure-track faculty members with over 340 undergraduates, and over 125 graduate students. Read the full University of Houston job announcement and description here: Assistant Professor - Geosensing Systems Engineering - (FAC001609). Apply Online The University of Houston is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. Minorities, women, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Additionally, the University prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
New NCALM dataset available covering portions of Cedar Mesa and Bears Ears National Monument, Utah October 26, 2020 OpenTopography is pleased to announce the release of a new lidar dataset covering approximately 230 sq km covering Cedar Mesa and Bears Ears National Monument, Utah (Shash Jáa Unit). This...	OpenTopography is pleased to announce the release of a new lidar dataset covering approximately 230 sq km covering Cedar Mesa and Bears Ears National Monument, Utah (Shash Jáa Unit). This dataset was collected for a study to explore the dynamic impacts of environmental change and biomass harvesting on woodland ecosystems and traditional livelihoods... Continue reading at OpenTopography.
NCALM Invites Graduate Students to Submit 2020 Seed Proposals September 28, 2020 2020 Seed Proposal Period: October 1–December 31 The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping invites proposals from graduate student PIs seeking airborne lidar data for use in research...	2020 Seed Proposal Period: October 1–December 31 The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping invites proposals from graduate student PIs seeking airborne lidar data for use in research toward an M.S. or Ph.D. degree. NCALM maps up to eight projects each year, covering up to 40 sq km, for graduate students who require lidar data. Seed Proposal Grants are supported by the NSF. See NCALM's Seed Proposals and Format Guidelines pages for background information and instructions on submitting a proposal. The submission period is Thursday, October 1–Thursday, December 31, 2020. Contact ncalm [at] egr.uh.edu for more information. This year NCALM will also consider completing a limited number of the projects using lidar collected from a UAS (drone) platform. Areas of interest for UAS must be no more than 2 sq km, less than 8,000 ft MSL, be accessible by public road, and deployment (from a major city) and mapping must be achievable within three days. Related News: ncalm.cive.uh.edu/three-new-ncalm-datasets-released-california-and-utah-now-available ncalm.cive.uh.edu/ncalm-announces-2019-seed-proposal-winners
New NCALM datasets in Central Idaho and near Ensenada, Mexico released September 15, 2020 OpenTopography is pleased to announce the release of two new NCALM lidar datasets. The first is an NCALM Seed Dataset collected for Nate Mitchell at Indiana University, Bloomington. These...	OpenTopography is pleased to announce the release of two new NCALM lidar datasets. The first is an NCALM Seed Dataset collected for Nate Mitchell at Indiana University, Bloomington. These data were used in a study to measure variations in bedrock cliff morphologies along Boulder Creek, northwest of Salmon, Idaho... Continue reading at OpenTopography.
NCALM and CRREL Enter Research and Development Agreement September 3, 2020 NCALM Expands UAS Capability The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Cold...	NCALM Expands UAS Capability The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH. This collaborative agreement supports a direct link for advancing the collection of high-resolution, geodetic-grade lidar data and greatly increases NCALM's flexibility to support the research community. Of particular interest, NCALM is now able to support UAS lidar operations through the use of the three RiCOPTER systems integrated with high-resolution RIEGL VUX laser scanners. Investigators interested in using UAS lidar for their projects should contact Craig Glennie (clglennie [at] uh.edu) directly. The Remote Sensing/GIS Center of Expertise (RS/GIS CX) at CRREL houses one of the preeminent lidar programs in the nation. The RS/GIS CX owns and maintains lidar instruments of various wavelengths and capabilities, as well as multiple imaging cameras from thermal to visible range. Their work and assets allow NCALM to deploy state-of-the-art, drone-based lidar systems in support of research and development activities for the National Science Foundation from pole to pole. NCALM and RS/GIS CX have a long-standing relationship in software and systems development and data collection and processing. The NCALM team looks forward to continued collaboration with colleagues in New Hampshire. Follow @NCALM_UH on Twitter for continued updates. Related News Stories: www.egr.uh.edu/news/uh-researchers-improving-resolution-3d-data-collected-drones www.egr.uh.edu/news/beyond-archaeology-ncalm-pursues-new-technology-new-projects
New NCALM Datasets Capturing Post-Fire Landscapes in California, and Hurricane Harvey Impacts in Texas September 1, 2020 OpenTopography is pleased to announce the release of four new NCALM Seed datasets covering areas of California, and one hurricane rapid response project in Texas... Continue reading at...	OpenTopography is pleased to announce the release of four new NCALM Seed datasets covering areas of California, and one hurricane rapid response project in Texas... Continue reading at OpenTopography.
CEE adds 3 new assistant professors for Fall 2020 semester July 15, 2020

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