Keynote Speakers
Monday, April 26, 2010

Mr. Jack Dangermond
Founder and President
ESRI Inc.

Jack Dangermond is the founder and president of ESRI. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Redlands, California, ESRI is widely recognized as the technical and market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, pioneering innovative solutions for working with spatial data on the desktop, across the enterprise, in the field, and on the Web. ESRI has the largest GIS software installation base in the world with more than one million users in over 300,000 organizations worldwide. He fostered the growth of ESRI from a small research group to an organization of more than 5,000 employees worldwide. He is known internationally for GIS software development, training, and services. Mr. Dangermond holds ten honorary doctorates and dozens of prestigious awards for his work in geography, geospatial technology and environmental science.

Mr. John K. Graham
President, Security, Government & Infrastructure,
Intergraph Corporation 

John Graham directs the overall global strategy for Intergraph’s Security, Government and Infrastructure (SG&I) division. Mr. Graham leads the division and its Federal, Security & Infrastructure, Government, Photogrammetry, Public Safety, Transportation and Utilities & Communications business units.

Prior to joining Intergraph, Mr. Graham served as executive vice president, global sales and service for Siemens UGS Software. A former U.S. Navy officer, he holds a master’s degree in business administration from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Mississippi.

Mr. Ed Parsons
Geospatial Technologist

Ed Parsons is the Geospatial Technologist of Google, with responsibility for evangelizing Google’s mission to organize the world’s information using geography, and tools including Google Earth, Google Maps and Google Maps for Mobile.

Ed was the first Chief Technology Officer in the 200-year-old history of Ordnance Survey, and was instrumental in moving the focus of the organization from mapping to Geographical Information.

Ed came to the Ordnance Survey from Autodesk, where he was EMEA Applications Manager for the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Division. During his tenure, he helped Autodesk to become one of the key providers of GIS software. Earlier in his career he was a Senior Lecturer at Kingston University, where he helped establish Europe’s first undergraduate course in GIS.

Mr. Brad Schmidt

Vice-President of Sales and Marketing
PCI Geomatics

Brad Schmidt has been with PCI Geomatics since 2004 and has over 20 years of experience within the geomatics industry. He has been an educator and business owner working extensively in the geospatial industry both domestically and internationally.

Previously, he worked for Intergraph in the Middle East where he was responsible for the successful operation of the Mapping and GIS Solutions Division, managing both a sales force and a professional services organization. While at Intergraph, Mr. Schmidt developed new business opportunities, providing solutions to the GIS, mapping, and photogrammetric industries within the region.

Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Geomatics Canada Advisory Committee (GC-AC), which provides advice to the government on issues related to geomatics. Mr. Schmidt holds an Honors BA Degree in Geography from Wilfrid Laurier University and obtained his Master of Science Degree majoring in Geography and specializing in Remote Sensing and Mapping from the University of Calgary.

Professor. Mike Goodchild
University of California – Santa Barbara 

Mike considered the father of Geographic Information Science; was our chair from 1998 to 2000 and is currently the Associate Director of the Alexandria Digital Library, Director of the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science, Chair of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, and Director of space@ucsb. Mike's many awards include the Prix Vautrin Lud, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Geospatial Information and Technology Association; the Robert T. Aangeenbrug Distinguished Career Award from the Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group of the AAG; the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society; and being named Educator of the Year by the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Professor. Sameer Abu Eisheh

An-Najah National University – West Bank

Dr. Sameer Abu-Eisheh is a Professor of Civil Engineering at An-Najah National University in the Palestinian Territories. Dr. Sameer served as the University President’s Assistant for Planning and Development and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. He got his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in 1987. He has also versatile public and private sector experience. He served as the Minister of Planning in two Palestinian Governments. He has more than twenty years of consulting experience for various national and international institutions, especially in the fields of planning, transportation and infrastructure engineering, and engineering education. He was a visiting Professor in a number of universities in the USA, Germany and France. He participated in authoring two books and published or presented more than sixty papers and articles.

Professor. Naser El-Sheimy
Canada Research Chair and Scientific Director of Tecterra
The University of Calgary
President, ISPRS Commission I

Dr. Naser El-Sheimy is Professor at the Department of Geomatics Engineering at the University of Calgary, Canada. He holds a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Mobile Multi-sensor Systems and Scientific Director of Tecterra. His research interests include multi-sensor systems, mobile mapping systems, and their applications in mapping and GIS. 

Dr. El-Sheimy published a book and over 350 papers in academic journals, conference and workshop proceedings, in which he has received numerous national and international paper awards. Dr. El-Sheimy is currently president of Commission I (Image Data Acquisition - Sensors and Platforms) of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) , Vice Chairman of the Special Study Group on “Mobile Multi-sensor Systems”, of the International Association of Geodesy, Chairman of the Fédération Internationale des Géomètres (FIG) Working Group C5.3 on "Kinematic and Integrated Positioning Systems”.

Dr. Vivek Shandas
Portland State University - USA

Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
College of Urban and Public Affairs
Portland State University

Dr. Shandas is a faculty member in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, and Research Associate in the Center Urban Studies at Portland State University (PSU). Dr.Shandas has degrees in biology (BS), economics (MS), environmental policy (MS), and urban design and planning (PhD). Prior to his arrival to PSU, he worked as an environmental and health policy analyst for New York State's Governor's office, and as a grade-school science teacher.

Dr.Shandas' research and teaching interests include spatial analysis, public participation GIS, urban ecology, environmental policy, and interdisciplinary education. He uses GIS to conduct research on the coupling of human and biophysical systems, with specific applications to urban water management. While he has published widely across multiple scholarly journals, he also serves on local, State, and National technical advisory boards, aiming to link his scientific analysis and evaluation to pressing societal challenges.