Toronto, Canada - Optech Incorporated announced that James Kavanagh will be the keynote speaker at its 6th International Terrestrial Laser Scanning User Meeting. Kavanagh will bring his unique perspective to a broad range of issues that affect users of static and mobile laser scanning systems. The conference will be held June 26-27, 2012 at the Novotel Nice Centre in Nice, France.

Kavanagh, who will be speaking on “The Challenges of Bringing LiDAR to the Survey World”, is a chartered land surveyor and chartered geographer. He studied survey and mapping at DIT Dublin, Ireland and the University of East London, and has worked on some of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe, including Canary Wharf and Broadgate-London. He also spent several years mapping Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East while working for the United Nations. Kavanagh has wide experience in surveying and land issues throughout the world, including Ireland, the U.K., Belgium, the Seychelles, Palestine, the Philippines, Syria, and Egypt. Currently director of land within the Professional Groups and Forums department of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Kavanagh is the author of numerous surveying and mapping journal articles, has presented professional and technical papers at global conferences and regularly lectures on professional practice.

Kavanagh also co-authored several industry-standard professional guidance notes and specifications, and has instigated the use of ‘global virtual e-communities’ within RICS, which has revolutionized member interaction and collaboration. RICS Land Group includes the professional practices of environment, geomatics, minerals and waste management, rural, telecoms and planning and development, and comprises over 26,000 members.

For more information about Optech's user meeting, please visit www.optech.com/i3dugm.