April 30, 2025 | Weekly Newsletter

The LAS Working Group (LWG) seeks public comment for the initial draft of the brand-new LAS 1.5 specification. The latest iteration of the draft is available here:

LAS_1.5R20_draft_for_public_comment_v1.pdf

Comment Period

Per ASPRS bylaws, the public comment period will last at least 30 days, beginning approximately April 30th, 2025.

Comments will be due by May 31st, 2025 and incorporated into the specification by the LWG. The final version will be submitted to the ASPRS Board of Directors for final approval and publication.

How to Comment

Any member of the public is welcome to contribute changes, corrections, or comments during the public comment period.

When commenting, please provide enough context for us to identify the section being commented on by providing section numbers, page number, a commented PDF, and/or screenshots.

You can submit comments using any of three methods:

1. Users with a GitHub account may contribute comments directly on this Issue thread: https://github.com/ASPRSorg/LAS/issues/162
2. ASPRS members may contribute comments on this Discussion page: https://community.asprs.org/wg-las/discussion/las-15-initial-draft-ready-for-public-comment
3. Anyone can email the LWG directly at las@asprs.org

Thank you for your interest in the LAS specification!

ASPRS Mid-South Annual Conference awards top student prizes



On April 24-25, 2025, the ASPRS Mid-South region composed of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee held their annual meeting at Oak Ridge National Laboratory attended by more than 140 in-person and virtual attendees. The three top student talks were awarded cash prizes: $100, $75, $50. The awards were based on ballots submitted by attendees.  

Left to right, Chintan Maniyar, Rajneesh Sharma, and Savannah Jobkar, top three winners of the ASPRS Mid-South Annual Conference Student Talk Competition

The first-place winner was Chintan Bimal Maniyar who is a PhD student in Geography at the University of Georgia, specializing in Ocean Color Remote Sensing. His research focuses on monitoring inland and coastal water quality using remote sensing. Specifically, he works on developing affordable early warning and monitoring systems for toxic Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms, combining low-cost edge sensors with Geo-AI techniques applied to multi-satellite imagery. His talk was entitled “Low-cost Sensor to Strengthen CyanoHAB Monitoring with New Gen Ocean Color Satellites for Underrepresented Regions”. 

The second-place winner was Rajneesh Sharma who is a PhD Candidate in Geography at the University of Georgia. His research combines data from soil sensors, handheld spectrometers, drones, and satellites to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) in wetlands, supporting ongoing carbon budgeting efforts. He specializes in integrating domain knowledge and machine learning methods suited for data-scarce scenarios in environmental science. His talk was entitled “Low-Cost Soil Sensing System for Estimating SOC Stocks in Coastal Wetlands”. 

The third-place winner was Savannah Jobkar who earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in civil engineering and is currently finishing up a masters in Biosystems engineering at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and will start a PhD this fall. Her research focuses on detecting animal, feeding operations, using deep learning and geospatial tools to improve agricultural monitoring and water quality across Tennessee. Her talk was entitled “Monitoring Through Deep Learning: Poultry AFO Detection”. 



Stay engaged with the ASPRS Mid-South region activities through https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/asprs-mid-south-region

The LAS Working Group (LWG) seeks public comment for LAS 1.4 Revision 16. The most recent draft is available here:

https://github.com/user-attachments/files/19652477/LAS_1.4R16_draft_for_public_comment_v2.pdf

Comment Period

Per ASPRS bylaws, the public comment period will last at least 30 days, beginning approximately April 9th, 2025.

Comments will be due by May 15, 2025 and incorporated into the specification by the LWG. The final version will be submitted to the ASPRS Board of Directors for final approval and publication.



How to Comment

Any member of the public is welcome to contribute changes, corrections, or comments during the public comment period.

When commenting, please provide enough context for us to identify the section being commented on by providing section numbers, page number, a commented PDF, and/or screenshots.

You can submit comments using any of three methods:

1. Users with a GitHub account may contribute comments directly on this Issue thread: https://github.com/ASPRSorg/LAS/issues/159
2. ASPRS members may contribute comments on this Discussion page: https://community.asprs.org/wg-las/discussion/las-14-revision-16-ready-for-public-comment
3. Anyone can email the LWG directly at las@asprs.org

Thank you for your interest in the LAS specification!

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing (PE&RS)

Special Issue on

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing (imaging spectroscopy) to make Gigantic Leaps in Land and Water Science



Guest Editors: Dr. Prasad S. Thenkabail, Dr. Itiya Aneece, Dr. Pardhasaradhi Teluguntla

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Email: pthenkabail@usgs.gov, ianeece@usgs.gov, pteluguntla@usgs.gov

Deadline for submission of manuscripts: rolling submission starting now until July 31, 2026

Tentative publication date: Expect multiple issues in 2025 and 2026

For more information visit https://my.asprs.org/common/Uploaded files/PERS/SpecialIssues/PERS_SpecialIssues_JULY31.pdf 

2025 William T. Pecora Award Nominations Now Being Accepted through MAY 30, 2025   

The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth by means of remote sensing.  The Department of the Interior (DOI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) jointly sponsor the award. 

The award was established in 1974 to honor the memory of Dr. William T. Pecora, former Director of the U.S. Geological Survey and Under Secretary, Department of the Interior. Dr. Pecora was a motivating force behind the establishment of a program for civil remote sensing of the Earth from space. His early vision and support helped establish what we know today as the Landsat satellite program. 

The Award Committee must receive nominations for the 2025 award by MAY 30, 2025. 

Additional information can be found at www.usgs.gov/pecora; and questions can be directed to the Executive Secretary at pecora@usgs.gov

Save the Date

UF/FL-ASPRS Spring Geospatial Workshop 2025 registration is now open!

Date: May 8, 2025

Location: UF Mid-Florida Research and Education Center at 2725 S Binion Rd, Apopka FL 32709 or Zoom

This workshop will be recorded.

Preparation for ASPRS Certification Workshop at MAPPS Summer Conference in Celoron, NY

This workshop covers the common knowledge areas comprising a large portion of exam content for ASPRS Certification. It is valuable preparation for those who have never taken an ASPRS exam, as well as for those who have expertise in a particular specialty, such as lidar or UAS, but feel less prepared for the general knowledge component of the exam. This workshop will also explain the certification application process and the importance of certification in career development.

The $350 registration includes a ticket to the MAPPS Welcome Reception on Sunday, July 27 from 5:15 pm - 7:00 pm.  

For more details of the MAPPS Summer Conference, click HERE.

• 32nd International Cartographic Conference - August 16-22, 2025, Vancouver Canada: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Early Career Professionals Council Mentors Podcast/Meeting- 1:00 PM (ET) every Wednesday: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Student Advisory Council Monthly Meeting - 8:00 PM (ET) on the third Monday of every month: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Florida Region Weekly Meeting - 10:00 AM (ET) every Wednesday: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Gulf South Region Monthly Meeting - 5:00 PM (ET) on the second Tuesday of every month: Details HERE

• ASPRS Northeast Region Monthly Meeting - 2:30 PM (ET) on the second Wednesday of every month: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Pacific Southwest Region Monthly Meeting - 7:00 PM (ET) on the third Wednesday of every month: Jon Meeting HERE.

• ASPRS Rocky Mountain Region Monthly Meeting - 1:00 PM (ET) on the first Thursday of every month: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Lidar Division Monthly Meeting - 12:00 PM (ET) on the second Thursday of every month: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Professional Practice Division Monthly Meeting - 3:00 PM (ET) on the first Tuesday of every month: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Primary Data Acquisition Division Monthly Meeting - 1:00 PM (ET) on the fourth Tuesday of every month: Details HERE or email PDAD to attend at divisiondirectorspdad@asprs.org.

• ASPRS Remote Sensing Applications Division Monthly Meeting - 11:30 AM (ET) on the second Thursday of every month: Details HERE.

• ASPRS Unmanned Autonomous Division Monthly Meeting - 12:00 PM (ET) on the last Friday of every month: Join HERE.

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Bill Spilman

Innovative Media Solutions

bill@innovativemediasolutions.com

ASPRS Media Kit 

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