May 19

Underground Utility Data Workshop

Learn about underground utility documentation in NYC and around the world and see state-of-the-art subsurface detection and visualization.

By New York University, Tandon School of Engineering

When and where

Date and time

Friday, May 19 · 9am – 4pm EDT

Location

Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, Pfizer Auditorium (1st Floor) 5 MetroTech Center #3840 Brooklyn, NY 11201

Agenda

Time	Agenda Topic
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM	Opening Remarks
9:15 AM – 9:45 AM	NYU – UNUM Overview
9:45 AM – 10:15 AM	Open Geospatial Consortium – MUDDI
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM	Ordnance Survey – Experience in collaborative sub-surface data sharing
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM	BREAK
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM	UMSI – ASCE Standards
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM	ProStar, Colorado DOT Efforts
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM	NYC Operations – 3D Underground Pilot
12:30 PM – 12:45 PM	Summary Remarks
12:45 PM – 4:00 PM	Technical Demonstrations

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM (Opening Remarks)

Debra Laefer , Ph.D.

Vishal Sharma ,Ph.D.

Debra Laefer is a Full Professor of Civil and Urban Engineering at New York University’s Center for Urban Science + Progress. She has a wide-ranging background spanning from geotechnical and structural engineering to art history and historic preservation. In her decade and a half as a faculty member in both the US and Europe, Prof. Laefer has served as the principal investigator for grants from a wide range of sponsors. Prof. Laefer has authored over 160 peer-reviewed publications, been awarded 4 patents, and has supervised 15 doctoral and 20 Masters theses. Among many honors from IEEE, ISPRS, and other professional societies, the most notable is perhaps the 2016 commissioning and hanging of her portrait by the Royal Irish Academy as one of eight researchers selected for the Women on Walls project to celebrate Irish women in Science and engineering.

9:15 AM – 9:45 AM (NYU – UNUM Overview)

Debra Laefer ,Ph.D.

9:45 AM – 10:15 AM (Open Geospatial Consortium – MUDDI)

Josh Lieberman, PhD.

Josh Lieberman develops, leads, and manages OGC Innovation Program initiatives. Trained as an earth and environmental scientist, Josh has been involved in OGC both as a member and as an initiative architect for more than two decades while serving as principal at Tumbling Walls, senior geospatial analysis manager at Deloitte, and lead architect at Traverse Technologies and Syncline. He is also a senior researcher at the Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis and has taught graduate classes at Harvard and UMBC. Josh currently leads the IP initiative Disaster Pilot 2023, tasks of Testbed 19, and OGC’s participation in the NSF-funded I-GUIDE and UNUM projects. He also organizes future IP initiatives and supports engagement with OGC standards development activities such as Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration (MUDDI), GeoPose, Analysis Ready Data, GeoDatacube, and others.

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM (Ordnance Survey – Experience in collaborative sub-surface data sharing)

Carsten Rönsdorf

Carsten Rönsdorf is a Strategic Propositions Manager and geospatial data interoperability in the Products and Markets group. He oversees the development of secure data-sharing propositions, drawing on experience from the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) Pilot and the National Energy Systems Map Proof of Concept. He is focussing on value creation from geospatial data and technologies in the utilities and infrastructure sectors and currently leads the standardization of the ‘Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration’ (MUDDI) at the Open Geospatial Consortium.

10:45 AM – 11:00 AM (BREAK)

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM (UMSI – ASCE Standards)

PHILIP J. MEIS, P.E.

Phil has 27 years of utility engineering (UE) experience and co-founded UMS in 2002. UMS is executing UE nationwide and pioneering 3D utility investigations, modeling, conflict analytics, design, and data management practices. Phil’s activity with advancing UE at a national level includes: • Chair for ASCE/CI/UESI 75 Standard Guideline for Recording and Exchanging Utility Infrastructure Data (initiating the standard development effort in 2011) • Governor for ASCE’s Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute (UESI) • 2020-21 Chair for the ASCE UESI Utility Risk Management Division (URMD) • Committee member for the ASCE/CI/UESI 38-22 revision • ASCE Liaison for the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration (MUDDI) Standard • TRB Utilities (AKD60) Committee Associate Member • Instructor for the BAMI / ASCE UESI Utility Investigation School.

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM (ProStar, Colorado DOT Efforts)

Page Tucker

Page Tucker has an extensive background in technology start-ups, including development, marketing, recruiting, capital financing and executive management. Page first became known as a technology visionary in the automotive industry for combining data mining and predictive modeling with geographic information systems. Page was the founder of Impact Solutions, Inc., a Silicon Valley based company he formed to provide state-of-the-art digital mapping and customer acquisition solutions to the automotive industry. Page went on to author 13 patents based on geospatial, mobile, and cloud technologies, including the methods for capturing, recording and displaying the precise location of buried infrastructure and in 2014, founded ProStar®. In 2016 the Colorado Technology Association named him Entrepreneur of the Year for his efforts and innovations in the development of ProStar’s Precision Mapping Solutions®. Today, Page continues to serve as the company’s CEO and President.

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM (NYC Operations – 3D Underground Pilot)

Adam Barin

Since joining the NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations in 2016, Adam Barin has led and supported many important initiatives through policy, data, and spatial analysis. He played a key role in the City’s COVID response efforts including serving as the Chief of the Data Analytics & Reporting Branch of the NYC Vaccine Command Center. Since 2017, Adam has helped drive New York City’s underground infrastructure mapping efforts. Now Manager of Strategy and Analytics, Adam and his team are working to launch 3DUnderground, a highly secure, 3D data-sharing platform for the underground built and natural environment.

12:30 PM – 12:45 PM (Summary Remarks)

12:45 PM – 4:00 PM (Technical Demonstrations)

Collecting and managing underground utility data involves using methods like ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic location. This data is stored in GIS databases for real-time access and visualized through 2D/3D mapping or advanced AR technologies. The focus is on ensuring accurate, high-quality, secure, and interoperable data across different systems. These modern technologies improve the efficiency and safety of managing underground utilities.

About this event

Join scholars, practitioners, industry leaders, and other interested groups from around the globe to highlight recent advances and emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in underground utility data collection, documentation, and applications to promote the resilience of the underground environment. Underground infrastructure is particularly prevalent in dense urban areas where it potentially interacts with the subsurface environment.

Learn about advances in underground data registries, affiliated standards, pertinent legislation, and management arrangements, here in NYC, across the US, and internationally.

This free 1-day Workshop on NYU Tandon’s Brooklyn Campus will feature leaders in utility engineering, municipal operations, and subsurface object detection.

This event will feature talks from The Mayor’s Office of Operations, Utility Mapping Services Inc., Ordnance Survey UK, ProStar, and the Open Geospatial Consortium. Come explore the latest and most technically advanced solutions in subsurface data acquisition, storage, and visualization.