Bio

Geoff Zeiss has more than 20 years experience in the geospatial software industry and 15 years experience working with utilities, communications, and public works in enterprise geospatial IT around the world. His focus is on the convergence of engineering, geospatial and 3D visualization and its application to infrastructure design and operations to support intelligent networks such as smart grid. He has been directly involved in some of the largest successful implementations of geospatial network documentation/records management systems in the utility and telecommunications sectors. In 2004, Geoff received one of ten annual global technology awards from Oracle Corporation for his technical innovation and leadership in the use of Oracle. He is a frequent speaker at geospatial industry events around the world including Where 2.0, Map India, Latin American Geospatial Forum, ICC 2009, Map World Forum, Middle East Spatial Technology Conference, and Autodesk University. Geoff received a speaker excellence award at the GITA Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference 2009. Prior to joining Autodesk, Geoff was Director of Software Engineering at MCI VISION* Solutions, which was acquired in 1999 by Autodesk. VISION* Solutions was known for developing innovative solutions based on leading-edge technology and, among other innovations, is credited with introducing RDBMS-based spatial data management, long transactions, CAD/GIS integration, and UML-based object modeling into the enterprise geospatial market. Zeiss earned a doctorate from McGill University, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

Abstract

Drive for Construction Productivity Spurs Intelligent Infrastructure Models
In the last 200 years since the industrial revolution, urbanisation has been occurring at an exponential rate representing the largest impact humans have had on the planet. Many of the world’s sustainable cities initiatives such as City 2.0, are based on the premise that we need to enable more intelligent cities. According to the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), the GCC countries are on track to spend $137.4 billion between 2011 and 2020 just on new road and railway projects. In the building sector model-based design has accelerated in the last decade motivated by business objectives. Construction companies are linking BIM models to projects management software to enable 4D and 5D views of projects that help eliminate risk of overruns in the scheduling of material deliveries and work crews. Another of the benefits of a model-based design process is that it facilitates knowledge transfer. By developing a digital model of a structure, engineering companies are finding that information captured from experienced workers and embodied in a model conveys to the less experienced designer more information than was possible with a paper-based process. Governments in different parts of the world have become aware of these business benefits. The UK Government is requiring all publicly funded infrastructure projects to move to BIM by 2016. As part of sustainable design BIM facilitates the complex energy performance, lighting, solar and wind analyses that are part of a what-if approach to designing sustainable structures. 3D visualization is an integral part of BIM not only because it facilitates collaboration between design teams, but also because 3D modeling is a more natural, intuitive environment which is more effective in communicating with non-technical stakeholders. The X, Y, and millennial generations, who have been brought up with Wiis, PSPs, and Xboxes, know of no time when 3D technology was not part of their lives. Engineering companies are finding it easier to recruit and retain younger workers by offering them the opportunity to work with 3D model-based design technology. The convergence of BIM when put together with intelligent digital models of infrastructure networks, GIS and 3D visualization technology not only improves productivity but also enables a more holistic approach for addressing the major problems associated with increased urbanisation.

Bio

Chris Gibson has been with Trimble since 1998 in a variety of leadership roles including European managing director, Engineering and Construction division vice president worldwide sales, general manager of Global Services division which supports surveyors and mapping professionals from around the world and most recently, general manager of the Survey Division. In April 2009, he was appointed as the vice president responsible for the survey business and an executive committee member. In December 2010, his role was expanded to include a number of geographic regions and divisions, including building construction, cadastral, railway, construction tools, environmental and waste management as well as the Hilti joint venture. This provides Chris a global view and understanding of the surveyors’ roles and business opportunities in these market segments. Prior to Trimble, Gibson worked for Tandem Computers for nine years based in both the UK and the Netherlands in a number of financial management roles. Following the acquisition by Compaq, he was the European Finance Director for the Tandem Business Unit.

Abstract

Integrating Geospatial Information into Infrastructure Projects
The use of geospatial information is becoming increasingly critical to the successful completion of large complex infrastructure projects, whether they be road, rail or real-estate construction. Geospatial information is at the heart of the enterprise and is a key component of an integrated workflow that ensures projects are completed on time and within budget, and that resources are optimized throughout the project. Today, technological innovation continues to enhance the capability to acquire huge amounts of geospatial data. However, the critical element for the end-user is how that data is interpreted and applied for the tasks in hand. Chris Gibson will present an overview of how geospatial information and Building Information Modeling is being integrated into the overall project management and will provide examples of the productivity gains that have been realized on infrastructure projects around the world.

Abstract

A Spatial Data Infrastructure for people, profit and planet
Society is changing permanently due to economic and political changes, technological development and globalisation of our challenges (environment, population, disasters, natural resources etc.). The issues mentioned, relate to the development and protection of our economy, our society and our environment, referred to as the principles for sustainable development (people - profit - planet). For the purpose of good governance and corporate social responsibility, governments and companies need to have access to state of the art tools, products and services. In modern systems, geospatial information plays an important role, provided through Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). This presentation shows how Dutch Kadaster contributes to the Spatial Data Infrastructure of the Netherlands, being aware of the fact that our information, products and services contribute to sustainable development. Good governance, the development of e-government services and growing towards a spatially enable society, are key elements in our national strategy, asking for a good functioning SDI. Specific initiatives contributing to improvements, are the national policy called ‘Gideon’ and the setting up of a National System of Key Registers. The SDI in the Netherlands is in full development, both on the soft and hard components, and cannot longer be seen apart from the international context (e.g. INSPIRE in Europe). It is a challenge to meet up with the fast changing demands in society. Our services become more and more location based and business processes of Kadaster and its customers are further automated constantly. As a result we have to be flexible in our organisation and we have to adapt our business model accordingly. Kadaster is looking for international collaboration and opportunities to share its knowledge and experience worldwide.

Bio

Dean Angelides has worked with hundreds of organizations to implement GIS technology to improve their operations and decision-making over his 30 year professional career. Over 20 years ago he co-founded a GIS services company located in California. He joined ESRI in 2005. Dean has worked with many different types of organizations and industries – local, regional and national governments, utilities, transportation and logistics firms, natural resources companies, engineering firms, agricultural concerns, conservation organizations, and health organizations. He has helped them devise strategies for incorporating GIS into their business, and then assisted them to successfully implement technology solutions. Mr. Angelides has advised many executives and managers on how to get the most from their GIS investments. He has also served on a variety of advisory councils for GIS at local, regional and national levels. He is currently on the Advisory Board for the Geospatial Innovation Facility at the University of California, Berkeley, where Dean did both graduate and undergraduate study. In 2009, Dean was appointed as a Corporate Director by Jack Dangermond with responsibilities for overseeing all aspects of ESRI’s international operations. He is dedicated to ensuring that ESRI users are successful in their endeavors, and that GIS technology and methods are successfully used to resolve many or our toughest challenges around the world.

Abstract

The Open Geospatial Consortium: making standards count worldwide
Today's communication networks and distributed computing paradigms depend on standards. The OGC is an international consortium of more than 445 companies, government agencies, research organizations and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC standards enable technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Founded in 1994, the OGC initially focused on standards that made it possible for different GIS systems to exchange commands in the distributed computing environments of the time. Standards were then developed for use with Earth imaging systems and database systems. As the Web became the dominant distributed computing environment, Web-based standards were developed, so that geospatial processing instructions and geospatial data of any kind could pass between software systems of any kind. All this activity has been important in terms of supporting Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) around the world. In this address, Steven will provide examples of good practice where OGC standards are being used in local, regional, national and global SDI initiatives. The OGC’s membership and scope of activities continue to grow. New domain working groups address domain-specific requirements in areas such as aviation, hydrology, meteorology and emergency management. These communities take advantage of the OGC’s comprehensive standards development and maintenance capabilities, expertise, meeting management, business networking and educational opportunities. Users of existing standards across different communities bring their standards into the OGC to get them adopted and formalized as open geospatial standards. Domains such as social networking, real estate and smart grid are discovering that the OGC can help them address their critical needs for geospatial, or in some cases spatial, interoperability.

Bio

Dr. Rabi Mohtar is currently the Executive and Founding Director of Qatar Energy and Environment Research Institute (QEERI). Before joining Qatar Foundation, Professor Mohtar professional activities addressed the important issues of developing and maintaining the environmental aspects of sustainable development that involves using our resources efficiently, maintaining or improving environmental quality, as well as maintaining or improving the productivity, economic opportunities, and health of all people. Dr. Mohtar has held numerous senior positions including Full Professor at Purdue University in the US and Inaugural Director, Global Engineering Programs in the US. He has received numerous international research awards and honors. Dr. Mohtar focused on conserving natural resources (including land, water, air, and biological resources) that face global challenges such as increasing food and water supplies for a growing population. He developed environmental and natural resources conservation engineering programs that evaluate the environmental impacts of land use and water management; developed innovative soil and groundwater remediation technologies; applied numerical methods to biological engineering systems; characterized the soil water medium at the pedon, field, and watershed scales. He also designed and evaluated international sustainable water management programs that deal with population growth and water shortage conditions in arid climates. His research has resulted in improved methods for environmental and natural resources engineering, many of which have been adopted by other professionals and agencies internationally. As a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on water security since 2009, he authored a policy paper on Water-Energy-Food nexus that is published in Water and Growth: The Ultimate Nexus. Prof. Mohtar has published over 200 publications including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference proceedings and microfiches.

Abstract

Geospatial technology in the service of advanced research themes on environment and energy in Qatar- QEERI’s position and contribution Starting from Qatar Foundation’s vision for excellence towards human capital raising the quality of living, and preparing the people of Qatar to meet the challenges of a changing world, the Qatar Environment and Energy Institute (QEERI) is focusing on environment and energy to contribute to Qatar’s sustainability. QEERI tackles different themes that are inherently linked to natural resource, e.g. solar power and alternative energy technology, desalination, water resources and wastewater, air pollution and dust monitoring, and environmental assessment through ecosystem approaches of marine and coastal habitats. Such scientific investigations must depend on, and are using, the advanced spatial and information manipulation techniques of remote sensing and geographic information systems. QEERI’s aim of hosting research programs serving multidisciplinary research, would make it at the forefront in supporting Qatar achieve water security, reduce carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency, reduce risks threatening the marine-terrestrial habitats, thus securing Qatar’s sustainable development. Application of geospatial information techniques will serve quite decently this multi-disciplinarity, as indeed the trend in QEERI has already picked up. QEERI uses GIS and Remote Sensing technologies for modeling, decision support, and monitoring of environmental and energy resources in Qatar. The scope of work will extend to the GCC region, and all of the Middle East area. Research projects that QEERI is currently involved in that spatial analysis forms important part are:

• Air Quality monitoring and modeling in Doha – a joint project with the Ministry of Environment.
• Soil modeling in Qatar.
• Solar energy mapping in Qatar.
• Biodiversity mapping and spatial distribution of species, in Qatar.
• Groundwater pollution in Qatar.
• Soil pollution in Qatar.
• Soil salinity mapping using remote sensing and GIS in Qatar, using Landsat & SPOT images.

Bio

Mr. Scott currently holds the position of Executive Director, Security Solutions Strategy & Business Development at Intergraph. In this position, he is responsible for setting the strategy related to integrated security, intelligence and public safety systems for national governments, transportation agencies, military installations and state/local government. Mr. Scott’s career with Intergraph has spanned over 24 years; during his tenure he has held positions in engineering, business development, program management, and marketing. Mr. Scott was instrumental in Intergraph’s entry into the public safety market and subsequent utilization of the public safety application for the integrated security market. He is a registered civil engineer, has a BSCE from Lehigh University and has participated in graduate study in geodetic engineering. Mr. Scott has experience in Public Safety, Security, GIS, digital scanning and map production, civil engineering and utility distribution systems.

Abstract

Smarter Decisions and the Smart City
Cites are complex and dynamic. Around the world, they are experiencing record levels of population growth. The challenge for governments is how to deliver services in this changing environment. Some cities are exploiting the wealth of new information available from sensors, intelligent devices and, ubiquitous communications to provide citizens and businesses with better services. These “Smart Cities” are breaking down the barriers between information and communications technology (ICT) systems; linking-up information and processes as never before; and improving the way services and resources are planned, managed, delivered, and consumed. Join Intergraph’s Bob Scott as he discusses the transformation of cities to Smart Cities through “smarter decisions” – the ability to visualize, analyse, and respond to situations more effectively and efficiently. Smarter decisions can enhance public safety and security and improve communication, transportation, and utility systems in urban environments across the globe. Scott will discuss cities’ data challenges; the related questions of context, policy, governance, and data access; and how some cities have made the leap forward through smarter decisions.

Bio

Dr. Khaled El Nabbout is the business development manager at FARO Europe for EMEA region. He is a PhD in Geo-Sciences with specialisation in geo-visualisation for urban planning as joint research between Dresden University of Technology-Germany and the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation/ ITC (Enschede-The Netherlands). From 1995 until 2008, Dr. Khaled has been involved in different geomatics businesses through various international projects including land and border line surveying and urban planning. He is a member of the urban remote sensing special interest groups (SIG) of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL) since 2005 and is also a member of commission 3 at the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and the national delegates for the Lebanese Order of Surveyors. He has served as chair of the Geo-Sciences commission at the European Arabic Engineers Union.

Abstract

Terrestrial Laser Scan Application in Urban Planning
Terrestrial Laser Scan technology was highly developed in the last decade and the application of this technology has been used in different sectors. The aim of this presentation is to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of Terrestrial Laser Scan technology, especially in the urban planning field. The advantage of such tools based on real application will be presented in addition to data acquisition, processing and visualisation. The presentation of the project “Scanning a Road” will give live application and demonstrate the limit of such technology in Geospatial applications. The result of the paper will discuss whether Terrestrial Laser scan is developed enough to be applied successfully as a geospatial tool or not.

Bio

Dr. Mohamed Abd El Wahab Hamouda is the Head of Planning and Projects Division at the Centre for GIS (CGIS), Qatar and has close to twenty five years experience in the survey, mapping and GIS fields. During his 13-year tenure at CGIS so far, Dr. Hamouda has been a member of the team that witnessed the evolving implementation of the nation-wide GIS since its beginning in the early nineties. During this period, he has participated in and supervised many GIS projects within CGIS or among other member GIS agencies. Before joining CGIS, he worked at the Survey Research Institute of the National Water Research Center of Egypt for 8 years. During that period, he participated in and supervised many GIS and surveying projects. He is a PhD from Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Egypt in LIS/GIS; M.Sc. from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA in LIS/GIS

Bio

Mansoor Al Malki is the Director of Information Technology (IT) Department of the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) and heading all GIS and IT activities in QSA. He was also the Deputy Chief of Qatar Census 2010 and in-charge of all IT and GIS activities related to Census Operations. He has been quite instrumental in application of PDA in census data collection combining GIS and GPS capabilities. He was heading the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics group. He is a computer graduate and with vast GIS experience and expertise in GIS. He has participated in many national and international GIS conferences and workshops and presented papers and delivered lectures. He has been associated with Qatar GIS for almost two decades. He has been the key person in implementing GIS at QSA and making it popular among the data producers as well as the data users. Under his overall supervision, QSA GIS has published two Atlases in print and CD format and won ESRI-UC second and third best publication awards during ESRI-UC 2007 and 2008 in San Diego-CA. besides ESRI- SAG award in 2010.

Abstract

Qatar’s Prospects in UN Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM)
The United Nations initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) started in 2011 with its goal towards the development of global geospatial information among the member countries and to promote its use to address key global challenges faced. The first high level forum of UN-GGIM was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea in October last year. The second high level meeting is scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar in February 2013. Qatar has a well developed set up of Spatial Database Infrastructure (SDI) and a Nationwide GIS functional for almost two decades. The topic with brief note about Qatar GIS setup discusses the future initiatives towards development and management of geospatial Information with special reference to future Geospatial and Statistical System in Qatar. The discussion also highlights Qatar initiatives towards UNGGIM by organizing the second high level forum meeting and workshop next year and Qatar’s prospective contribution at regional and global level.

Bio

Neil joined Google in 2010 to head up Google’s Enterprise Geo business for Emerging Markets. He has spent his whole career in the Geo field holding a number of technical, business development and managerial posts for engineering and consultancy companies across Europe, the Middle East and India. His main interests are around innovation and new technologies that are changing the way we think, use, work and interact with geographical information. He is a geographer at heart, earning an Undergrad degree in Geography from Edinburgh University where he continued to complete a Masters degree in GIS.

Abstract

Consumerism of the Enterprise and its impact on Spatial Data Infrastructures
We are currently experiencing a major shift in both consumer and enterprise computing trends. In 2011, the worldwide sales of smart-phones and tablets eclipsed desktop and laptops. Cloud is the no 1 trend in enterprise computing and in many areas of technology, consumer products are leading the way in terms of innovation and ease of use. This presentation looks at some of the current IT/GIS trends, the future of the enterprise GIS and what impact this is going to have on Spatial Data Infrastructures.

Bio

Ibrahim Al Sada is the Manager, Water Planning at KAHRAMAA, State of Qatar. He joined KAHRAMAA in 1995 and has worked for both the electricity and water departments and has been instrumental in implementing new strategies for the department’s better functioning. He is a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Evansville, Indiana, USA and is also pursuing Masters of Business Administration from Hull University, UK. His presentation titled ‘GIS Centric Electricity and Water Management: Aligning Plans to Meet Qatar’s Growth’ looks at how KAHRAMAA has successfully adopted the GIS Technology with a long term vision of bringing in all the Spatial data into one comprehensive system.

Abstract

GIS Centric Electricity and Water Management: Aligning Plans to Meet Qatar’s Growth
In his 1999 bestseller “Business @ the Speed of Thought,” Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates wrote, “...we always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.” KAHRAMAA (KM) has adopted the GIS Technology with a long time vision of bringing in all the Spatial data into one comprehensive system which was initiated by CGIS as part of a “Social GIS” vision of the then Minister for Municipal Affairs. Ever since the GIS system has evolved from a mere “Good looking colour Maps” to mainstream database for KM’s core Directorates ENA and WNA. KM has had its share of challenges on its path in achieving the goals it has set in this direction. Even though the challenges were tough, benefits of GIS system has made them look achievable. KM has been moving the bar to a higher level and striving to get to a level where no other utility has ever reached. GIS system in KM has matured to a level from where an Enterprise level implementation is what has been looked at. Once KM achieves Enterprise level, an Integrated Enterprise level implementation is where the next challenge lies. With the lessons KM is learning from the wise leadership of HH the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and KM is ready to face these challenges to come victorious Insha’Allah.

Bio

Maj Aref Ibrahim is a telecom engineer. He joined the Ministry of Interior in the State of Qatar in 1998 and has worked as a project manager for numerous projects. He is currently a project manager in the National Command Centre (NCC) and is a specialist in incidents management. He has participated in many events and workshops globally (Homeland Security workshop in ESRI user conference in San Diego) under the subject of Operations Management.

Bio

Venugopalan started his career in Mumbai in 1967 as a Management Trainee with Voltas Limited, a TATA group company. Following a brief training period, he was inducted into the management cadre. During the ten years he was with Voltas, Venugopalan held various management jobs in different business areas. Venugopalan joined the Mannai Corporation in 1978. His first assignment was to consolidate the consumer electronics and appliances agencies into a business unit. In addition to managing the Consumer Products division, he was also responsible for streamlining the Air-conditioning service and oil field supply business. Venugopalan was instrumental in Mannai Group entering the IT & Telecom business in the late eighties. As General Manager, IT Division he has made Mannai a significant player in this field and also an important contributor to the Group’s overall business. Venugopalan has a postgraduate degree in Economics from Calcutta University.