Students from southeast Alabama and as far away as Huntsville recently attended the inaugural Geo-Day at Troy University.

Geo-Day, which took place March 11, is an event aimed at igniting students’ interest in the geospatial informatics field.

Dr. Steve Ramroop and the Geospatial Informatics Department hosted the inaugural event as a means to inform students of the vast potential for employment in the fields of surveying, scanning, satellites, geographic information systems (GIS) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS/drones).

There were 390 people in attendance, including 323 students representing 20 different schools with their guidance counselors, teachers and parents.

Students and their faculty said they were amazed to see the technologies and how they were applied in various professional applications.

Five companies along with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and the Alabama Society of Professional Land Surveyors (ASPLS) volunteered their time and resources to conduct sessions for the students.

The event was held in four locations on campus, with Surveying and Geomatics student volunteers serving as guides for the groups of high school students.  

Sessions included presentations on drones, GPS, GIS, land surveying, mobile mapping, 3D laser scanning and satellites.

ALDOT had their UAS command center trailer and mobile mapping truck for students to tour.

Many other high-tech pieces of equipment were available for students to examine and see demonstrated.