When Clay Wygant first came to Maser Consulting, it was his job to develop a Mobile LiDAR division. So, this geospatial man-on-the-move began by setting out with his crew and a RIEGL VMX 450 mobile mapper atop his truck, zig-zagging and scanning his way across the country! In fact, he traversed to so many places so quickly, that the only way we ever knew his location was through postcard-like pictures of our mobile mapper in front of local landmarks like Miami Beach or the Colorado Rocky Mountain Highs.
But let’s back up a bit
Thanks to the foresight of Maser Executive VP Leo Ponzio, Maser purchased its first RIEGL VMX mobile LiDAR system. This was the first time in company history that we purchased a million dollars’ worth of survey instrumentation without the expertise to run it. However, there was a plan! Mr. Ponzio envisioned the power of geospatial scanning technology and what it would mean for the future of the company. So, at the end of 2013, he hired Clay Wygant, who had a reputation as the best in the industry.
In less than two years, Clay’s efforts helped pave the way for Maser Consulting to develop a variety of powerful Hi-Definition Scanning (HDS) technologies. These have added an entirely new dimension to the way we acquire survey data and produce deliverables for our clients.
Subsequently, Maser Consulting’s self-proclaimed Geospatial Dream Team of experts was born. They have become entrenched in the advancements of this equipment and technology, while continually adapting it to new uses. Reinforced by project managers, survey technicians, and CADD professionals, the Dream Team encompasses a large field of members and the common bond between them all is individual pride in their work. The attraction of geospatial survey methodologies, from data collection to creation of final deliverables, is so strong, the fact that something new could happen every day, has created a rich work environment that has connected our survey specialists from all of our locations nationwide.
So exactly where is Wygant?
Our last communique found him finally taking a little R&R. For Clay, this means backpacking some ump-teen miles of big open country with his son in Alaska. He sent a photo from the highest of the three summits on their inland trek in the one-million-acre White Mountains National Recreation Area. Their mission was to go back in time to locate a monument the United States Geological Survey (USGS) set on the tall rocky mountain in 1951.
With over 30 years of experience under his belt, Wygant just never stops. However, he did take it down a notch to talk to our friends at RIEGL USA about the past, development and future of mobile LiDAR. He sat down for an interview with Mobile Segment Manager Josh France for their RiCAST series. Listen to it here!