Intergraph honors Photogrammetry Experts with 2009

08 September 2009, 2:12pm

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Sept. 8, 2009 - Intergraph has named Drs. Devrim Akca and Michael Cramer as the winners of its biennial Carl Pulfrich Award, which recognizes significant design and manufacturing contributions to the photogrammetry, remote sensing and earth imaging industries. The Intergraph award is dedicated in memory of Dr. Carl Pulfrich, a key member of the scientific team at Carl Zeiss, who from 1890 to 1927 oversaw the design of the company's first stereo photogrammetric and surveying instruments. Carl Zeiss later teamed with Intergraph to create Z/I Imaging, which is now Intergraph's wholly owned photogrammetry division. The award was presented on September 7 during the 52nd Photogrammetric Week in Stuttgart, Germany, an event which Pulfrich launched in 1909.

The Carl Pulfrich Award Council considered nominees on the basis of experience, activities in photogrammetry and remote sensing and contributions to the advancement of all aspects of the earth imaging fields. Applied work involving hardware systems, software solutions or innovative service activities were also considered by the award council. During Photogrammetric Week, Drs. Akca and Cramer were presented with 2009 Carl Pulfrich Award plaques and a monetary prize of $3,750 USD each.

Dr. Akca completed a Ph.D. program in photogrammetry and remote sensing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, where he was also a senior research associate. His studies focused on a concept called 3D least squares surface matching, which has many applications in photogrammetry. He will become an assistant professor in the Department of Information Technologies at Isik University in Istanbul, Turkey in mid-September. Akca is a member of several industry associations including ISPRS and ASPRS, and is co-founder of a geospatial software company in Zurich.

Dr. Cramer is a leading researcher and senior lecturer with tenure at the Institute for Photogrammetry at Stuttgart University in Germany. He is one of the leading international experts and scientific researchers in the field of high definition airborne camera performance. He received his Ph.D. from Stuttgart University, and today specializes in integrated GPS/inertial navigation systems for airborne applications, georeferencing of airborne sensors, digital camera performance tests and digital camera calibration, validation and certification. Dr. Cramer is very active in industry groups including ISPRS, EuroSDR and the German Society of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation.

"Intergraph is proud to recognize the great contributions of Drs. Akca and Cramer to this industry, while also honoring the memory of photogrammetry pioneer, Dr. Carl Pulfrich," said Dr. Mostafa Madani, chief photogrammetrist at Intergraph and chairman of the Carl Pulfrich Award Council. "As a leader in earth imaging and photogrammetry, Intergraph feels it is important to both commemorate industry milestones and inspire future leaders so that we may continue to develop innovative technology to meet and surpass customer needs."

During Photogrammetric Week, Intergraph is also demonstrating and presenting its comprehensive range of photogrammetry solutions, from image acquisition to post-processing. Intergraph's end-to-end earth imaging solutions include digital aerial cameras, photogrammetric workstations, flight management and post-processing systems, as well as a full photogrammetric data exploitation software suite.

For more information, follow the links below.

Carl Pulfrich Award Program

Intergraph photogrammetry solutions

Geo: International