Chad Lopez is the first Remote Sensing Technologist to complete the requirements for certification under the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) certification program for technologists.  Lopez specializes in processing, analyzing and classifying satellite and aerial imagery.  He has worked with Fugro EarthData, Inc. (formerly EarthData International) since 2005 as a Senior Digital Imaging Analyst.   He is currently working in shallow-water benthic habitat mapping of the southern Texas coast from 2m ADS40 multispectral imagery; and land cover/land use mapping in South Carolina from 6in ADS40 multispectral imagery.  Lopez has made numerous conference presentations on his work and holds a B.S. degree in marine science and biology from the University of Alabama and a M.S. degree in marine sciences from the University of South Alabama.

Lopez noted that Fugro EarthData, Inc. was very encouraging and supportive of him getting this ASPRS certification.  Kass Green, ASPRS President, worked closely with Lopez as a teacher and mentor in the past.

The ASPRS certification program for technologists is specifically geared to drafting technicians, inspectors, photographers, laboratory technicians, stereoscopic instrument or plotter operators, computations technicians, field survey assistants, interpretation technicians, image analysts, data processors, and digitizers.  This certification was instituted to give those working at the technologist level an opportunity to be recognized by ASPRS for their respective contributions. 

The technologist level is defined as work that is primarily of a technical nature, often demanding a high degree of skill, done under the direction of a professional who is responsible for its outcome.  Such work is pre-professional when performed by a professional trainee who, having completed courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study, is seeking to attain professional status.

The following categories of ASPRS technologist certification are offered:

Certified Photogrammetric Technologist (ASPRS)
A technician who performs or supervises technical photogrammetric tasks to extract spatial data from photographic or digital imagery.

Certified Remote Sensing Technologist (ASPRS)
A technician who performs or supervises tasks to interpret, manipulate, extract, process and convert remotely sensed data from photographic or digital imagery.

Certified GIS/LIS Technologist (ASPRS)
A technician who integrates a variety of spatial data sets into a GIS format designed for graphic output        or analysis.

For more information on the ASPRS certification program, contact certification@asprs.org or visit the ASPRS web site:  www.asprs.org/membership/certification/index.html