Our GANS Social Spotlight continues, showcasing the people shaping Nova Scotia’s geomatics community.

Interested in being featured? Visit: https://lnkd.in/e8enpW84
(Keep in mind, you don’t need to be a GANS member!)

This week’s spotlight features Yijian Fu, recent graduate of Marine Geomatics Graduate Certificate program at the Centre of Geographic Sciences, NSCC.

Q: What made you decide to study geomatics?
Before COGS, I studied Environmental Science and oceanography at Dalhousie, and I love to work in a field where I could spend some time outdoors and also work with technology. I came across geomatics and thought it was a really good combination of fieldwork, surveying, mapping, and data. I decided to go into Marine Geomatics because I was especially interested in the ocean and marine environment. I liked that the program gave me the chance to work with real survey equipment and data instead of only learning things in a classroom.

Q: What did you work on for your final project?
For my final project, we worked on a simulated nearshore cable and pipeline landfall project. We collected hydrographic data using multibeam and side scan sonar, along with RTK GNSS, and then combined that with LiDAR and topographic data we and remote sensing group collected. We processed the data using different software, including QINSy, CARIS, SonarWiz, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, and Fledermaus. One of the things I found really interesting was looking at the Side Scan Sonar data and finding fish traps along part of the proposed route. Based on what we found, we recommended looking at a different route and doing some additional surveys before moving forward.

Q: What are your goals for after graduation?
My main goal is to start working in hydrographic surveying, preferably in a nearshore or offshore position. I want to get more field experience and become comfortable working with different survey equipment and systems. I’m still pretty open to where my career takes me, but I’d like to build a strong foundation in hydrographic surveying first and eventually become someone who can work both in the field and with the data processing side of a project.