73rd Annual Convention
Evansville, IN
January 15th – 17th, 2025
Registration
ISPLS Members:
Non Members:
After 1/8/2025, no refunds will be made.
No pre-registrations will be accepted after 1/8/2025. After that, registration will be at the door and dependent upon max capacity.
Can’t make it this year?
ISPLS will be hosting a Virtual Conference with over 12 hours of virtual education. Everyone who registers to join us at the 2025 Convention will receive a discount on this virtual event. Look for registration to open in early January 2025.
We are looking forward to seeing each of you at another great ISPLS Convention!
Please don’t hesitate to contact the ISPLS office with any questions, concerns, or comments you might have.
Schedule
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Surveyors in Jeopardy | Gary Kent | 3 CEUs
Ethics for Land Surveyors and Engineers | Jeff Lucas | 3 CEUs
Thursday, January 16, 2025
The Art of Retracement | Gary Kent | 6 CEUs
What Went Wrong? | Jeff Lucas | 3 CEUs
New Datums and You: How to Prepare for the Upcoming Updates from NGS | Jacob Heck & Matt Badger | 3 CEUs
During this joint presentation, we will discuss how NGS is updating the National Spatial Reference System, including the update from NAD 83 and NAVD 88 to NATRF2022 and NAPGD2022, fundamentally changing the approach to geodetic control in the very near future. This will include the online tools that are available, updates to survey field practices to work in the new system, and showing the modernized role of passive control and the CORS network. This will be presented from both the NGS perspective and that of the practitioner, so it will cover practical impacts of how to prepare for the change, including maintaining existing data.
Precision: The Journey of Height Modernization in Indiana | Randall Nick | 3 CEUs
The award-winning Indiana Height Modernization Project is the only project of its kind ever performed in the State of Indiana. The project provided a significant upgrade to access to accurate and reliable Heights throughout Indiana. After a 10-year effort, Statewide completion was accomplished in 2023.
Rights of Way and Prescriptive Rights | Jeff Lucas | 3 CEUs
This discussion focuses on the basic requirements for preparing the documents and materials necessary for INDOT’s Right of Way Engineering process in compliance with the Indiana Administrative Code (Title 865) – namely Rule 12 (Land Surveying; Competent Practice). Additionally, the course relates the application of Route Surveys (Location Control Route Surveys) focusing on the Right of Way Engineering documents (i.e., R/W Parcel Plats and descriptions) required for INDOT or LPA (Local Public Agency) projects. To gain prequalification status, or remain on INDOT’s prequalification list, consultants are required to complete this training once every two years.
Indiana Common Law Research for Surveyors | Bryan Catlin | 1.5 CEUs
This session will show attendees how to perform on-line research of Indiana common law so that boundary decisions can be made that comply with common law.
Beyond Boundaries: Technology Integration in Surveying | Steven Jones | 1.5 CEUs
The course will investigate the integration of new technologies into the profession and how these will impact the profession. It will address how to prepare for upcoming needs in staff development, hiring, and recruiting. Topic addresses will be the applications of LiDAR, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and modernization of the National Spatial Reference System. The session will also address how to capitalize on these changes.
The Importance of a Passive Control GPS Networks for Surveying and Mapping | Kevin Breizke | 1.5 CEUs
Reviewing the data and spreadsheets that were created from 4 to 5-hour observations of NGS benchmarks, we can appreciate the limitations of our short-term GPS observations. For additional comparison, we observed the 3 miles by 3-mile grid of passive benchmarks which we contracted GPS observations I set in 1999 for the Porter County Auditors digital ortho photogrammetry project for those benchmarks which were based on our six HARN points observed in 1997. Also, I developed a high order passive point network to check, calibrate or correct references and ground control. I will discuss the procedures and issues of recovering the historic NGS monuments, problems and solutions for declaring the benchmarks “Destroyed”, and multipath issues that led to failure of OPUS solution and we need to be aware of for other GPS observations. Finally, passive marks ensure accurate geospatial data and support other ongoing surveying and mapping efforts.
Friday, January 17, 2025
Mock Trial – Harper v. Sunshower Resorts | Gary Kent | 6 CEUs
Survey Evidence and Procedures | Jeff Lucas | 3 CEUs
New Datums and You: How to Prepare for the Upcoming Updates from NGS | Jacob Heck & Matt Badger | 3 CEUs
During this joint presentation, we will discuss how NGS is updating the National Spatial Reference System, including the update from NAD 83 and NAVD 88 to NATRF2022 and NAPGD2022, fundamentally changing the approach to geodetic control in the very near future. This will include the online tools that are available, updates to survey field practices to work in the new system, and showing the modernized role of passive control and the CORS network. This will be presented from both the NGS perspective and that of the practitioner, so it will cover practical impacts of how to prepare for the change, including maintaining existing data.
Can They Find You? Promoting Your Business in Today’s Society | Kevin Woeste | 3 CEUs
We will be walking through the basics of creating a website, why it’s important to have SEO, how to post on LinkedIN, why blogs and short form videos are critical. We will be walking through the basics of social media, how they boost your work and post. Lastly, we will cover why it’s important to show the public the work you do every day.
Title Insurance for Land Surveyors | Jeff Lucas | 3 CEUs
Boundary Tracer – Engaging Highschoolers with Boundary Surveying | Joshua Carpenter | 1.5 CEUs
This session reports on introducing highschoolers to topographic, UAV, and boundary surveying during a week-long surveying and civil engineering bootcamp held at Purdue University. Boundary retracement is core to the role of a surveyor, but it is uniquely difficult to allow students to experience – especially in a classroom setting. To address this need, we developed a table-top exercise which simulates the evidential, historical, and geometric dimensions of boundary retracement within a simplified environment. We’ve dubbed this tool ‘Boundary Tracer’. This talk focuses on the development and implementation of the exercise and discusses how students engaged with boundary surveying for the first time. Attendees will hear many examples of educational strategies which might inform their own efforts to educate or promote the surveying profession.
Authoritative GIS: Professional Surveyor and Electronic Map Data | David Devine | 1.5 CEUs
The session will include presentation of relevant definitions, including Indiana Statue and findings related to “Authoritative GIS.” Particular emphasis is made to Indiana based GIS. Attendees will learn about Indiana Statue and some history as well as information from URISA and NCEES related to GIS.
Boundary Tracer – Demonstrating a Tool for Surveying Education | Joshua Carpenter | 1.5 CEUs
Boundary Tracer is an online tool helping novices experience the evidential, historical, and geometric dimensions of boundary retracement. This session will briefly describe the development of the tool and then walk through several exercises to demonstrate its use. Boundary Tracer was initially developed as a table-top exercise as part of a surveying and civil engineering boot-camp for highschoolers hosted by Purdue University. After the bootcamp, the exercise was moved to an online platform. Attendees interested in surveying outreach will learn about a new educational strategy that is being developed and can employ it freely and immediately in educational settings. Attendees new to the profession will get a refresher on the boundary retracement procedure and strengthen their intuition of its core principles.
Accommodations
More Information Coming Soon!
Exhibitor & Sponsor Information
The Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors cordially invites you to exhibit your products or services and increase your visibility within its membership by sponsoring events at our 2025 Annual Convention. This year, the convention will be held at the Old National Events Plaza in Evansville from January 15-17, 2020. With more than 500 professional land surveyors, the ISPLS Annual Convention is great exposure for your business.
We utilize an app to increase traffic to the exhibit hall and each exhibitor will have a full profile with contact information, logo and links to your website/social media. There will also be an in‐app activity that will encourage attendees to visit your exhibit space for a chance to win a prize.
Exhibit and sponsorship opportunities can be found on the document below. Make sure to commit by November 1, 2024 to receive full pre‐event exposure benefits (marketing to more than 1,000 land surveying professionals)!
The members of ISPLS welcome you and look forward to visiting your exhibits and networking with you in January.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jessica MacMillan, at jmacmillan@ispls.org, or Brian Lewis, Executive Director, at blewis@ispls.org.