Washington, DC (March 16, 2005) – In a ceremony held last week during its annual conference, the ASPRS installed Ms. Karen Schuckman as its 2005 president.  ASPRS is the mapping and remote sensing industry’s largest association, with membership of over 7,000 professionals from government, academia, and private sectors.

Elected national vice-president in 2003 and succeeding to president-elect in 2004, Ms. Schuckman moves into her new role prepared to continue and expand ASPRS initiatives.  “ASPRS fills a vital role both for mapping and GIS professionals and for the industry,” said Ms. Schuckman, “The broad range of expertise and experience within the membership, as well as the association’s activities with technology and industry standards, advocacy, educational programs, and professional certifications, make ASPRS a resource for the entire industry.”  In her keynote address at last Wednesday’s conference, Schuckman added that her vision for APSRS goes beyond its current role.  “ASPRS can and should help people fundamentally change the way they think about the earth and solve its problems.  Geospatial information is the key to this and ASPRS will lead the way in helping realize the potential of geospatial sciences to positively affect the way we live and manage the earth’s resources.” 

An active ASPRS member since 1990 while attending graduate school and while working in both the private and public sectors, Ms. Schuckman understands the interests and dynamics of ASPRS’s diverse membership.  As ASPRS president, she plans to advocate closer collaboration among professionals in the academic, private-sector, and public-sector arenas.  Prior to her installation as national president, Ms. Schuckman held numerous www.asprs.org for a complete description of Ms. Schuckman’s previous ASPRS service).

Employed with EarthData since 1995, Ms. Schuckman currently is geospatial applications director for EarthData Solutions, the organization’s GIS arm, where she develops new markets for innovative web-based products that include fully attributed 3D city data models integrated with GIS and database analysis tools.  “Those of us who have had the good fortune to work with Karen know her to be one of the most talented and dedicated individuals in this profession,” commented Bryan J. Logan, chairman of EarthData, who has known Ms. Schuckman for over a decade.  “ASPRS and the industry at large will benefit from Karen’s vision, her passion for our profession, and her steadfast commitment to her colleagues,” emphasized Mr. Logan, adding that on behalf of everyone at EarthData, he is proud of Ms. Schuckman’s achievement.

Prior to her current role with EarthData’s GIS group, Ms. Schuckman served as vice-president of the organization’s research and development group.  She also served as president and general manager of EarthData’s North Carolina office from 1995 to 2001, where she was a collaborator in designing and implementing the first-of-its-kind lidar statewide floodplain mapping program for the state of North Carolina.  Prior to joining the private sector, Ms. Schuckman worked for the USGS, National Mapping Division, in Menlo Park, CA.

About EarthData
EarthData is an airborne data collection, mapping, and GIS services organization that provides clients with customized products, services, and GIS applications to support a wide range of land-use, resource management, and engineering activities. With its fleet of aircraft, the organization collects aerial photography, uses an airborne laser system (lidar) and imaging radar (GeoSAR) to produce 3D terrain models, and develops or deploys other remote sensing technologies to detect thermal and multispectral information about the earth’s surface. EarthData offices in Florida, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC, use this data to create and supply photogrammetric, lidar, radar, and digital orthophoto mapping and GIS applications and services. EarthData also owns a Midwest mapping and GIS company, Horizons, Inc., with offices in South Dakota and Minnesota. (www.earthdata.com).