Geomatics Power in the Prairies: Calgary Group Leader Profiles
GoGeomatics free group networking events are open to everyone from all areas of geomatics, including business owners, professionals, students, and others. The purpose of the Socials is to build a thriving geospatial community through networking opportunities. Socials are held in pubs across Canada and are led by volunteer group leaders who share their time and knowledge. Please feel free to join our Calgary Meetup Group here.
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This series is to introduce the community to those GoGeomatics Group Leaders.
Welcome to the GoGeomatics Calgary Meetup Group
Mamatha Sanapala, RS &GIS, Backend / .Net Developer, Data Scientist/Analyst, Business Analyst
Mamatha is a fresh face to GoGeomatics, and to Canada as well. She has moved from Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh, India to Calgary, Alberta. When she first arrived in Canada, Mamatha searched for a GIS or Geomatics community by browsing the internet. GoGeomatics was a reputed group with a large following, and Mamatha was happy for the chance to become a part of it.
Mamatha has a Masters in Technology in RS and GIS, as well as a Bachelors in Civil Engineering. Geomatics is Mamatha’s field of expertise, having over 10 years of experience in GIS and Remote Sensing. She worked as a scientist in the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for over 15 years. Currently, Mamatha is upgrading her skills and taking some courses in Npower Canada and Launchpad by Vog.
As a group leader, Mamatha hopes to share what she has learned from her experiences, how it can be implemented, and in turn, learn from all of the GoGeomatics participants.
A favourite Quote of Mamatha’s:
“Whatever happened, happened for the good. Whatever is happening is happening for the good. Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.”
Mark Empey, Geomatics Specialist at GHD
Mark Empey was born in Mississauga, did his undergrad in Ottawa, moved to Waterloo for work, then moved a couple of provinces over to Calgary, Alberta where he currently resides.
After working as a Geomatics Specialist for a few years (primary tasks are GIS application development, database management, environmental modelling, UAV operator), Mark has taken a leave from his position to work on my PhD full time.
He has a BSc (hon) in Physical Geography from Carleton University and a BSc (hon) in Physical Geography from
Carleton University (where his love of GIS blossomed). He continued at Carleton to achieve another Bsc (hon) in Geomatics. He enjoyed learning about remote sensing, GIS programming, and applying them to studying permafrost and geohazards.
After this, he began to move into general consulting. In August 2022, Mark completed an MEng in Geomatics Engineering from the University of Calgary. He is now enrolled as a Ph.D. student in Geomatics Engineering at the University of Calgary where he focuses on data science, computer science, infrastructure asset management, and computational watershed hydrology. Mark intends to centre his thesis around developing a framework for flood risk modelling using discrete global grid systems.
Originally the meet-ups in Ottawa got Mark interested in geomatics, but he also loves to talk geomatics and the socials are a great way to do that. He was fascinated by the power of GIS to take the calculations he was doing by hand, and scaling them to the entire world. Mark attended many of the early socials in Ottawa while he attended Carleton University as an undergraduate and started his career. In 2018, Mark also attended a couple of socials in Kitchener after he moved there to work.
Mark, as a GoGeomatics Group Leader, hopes to share all the knowledge, tips, tricks, advice, and lessons he has learned over the years with all the GoGeomatics participants.
He says, “I love all things geomatics. I am excited to network and bring the community in Calgary together. I am also very eager to learn more about what others in the field are doing and how they are using geomatics to solve problems.”
Ifeanyi Njoku, Geomatics Technician at Martin Newby Consulting Ltd
A fresh face to GoGeomatics, Ifeanyi Njoku eagerly joins us as a Calgary Group Leader.
Originally from Nigeria, Ifeanyi now lives in Calgary. He achieved a Bachelor of Food Science and Technology from Abia State University in Nigeria and also attained a second Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the same University. Ifeanyi also received a Master’s in Remote Sensing and GIS from the Federal University of Technology in Akure.
Currently, Ifeanyi is working on another Bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Systems (BGIS) at SAIT. He wants
to stay abreast of the latest techniques utilized in the Geospatial industry in North America and the world. Ifeanyi finds the field of GIS very much applicable in all sectors like the Health sector, Environmental sector, Oil and Gas Sector, Agriculture, Engineering, Utilities, and Resource Extraction.
Ifeanyi came across GoGeomatics on LinkedIn and began to actively participate in the back-to-school socials in Calgary, which prompted him to be selected as
one of the Calgary coordinators, Jonathan.
Ifeanyi said, “I got interested in Gogeomatics because of its mission and goals. I have always loved to socialize with like-minds in the industry. I like to meet new people, discuss ideas that can help proffer solutions towards driving efficiency, and learn about diverse cultures, and diverse methods to achieve the same goal or task. Basically, my interpersonal skills matched with the mission of GoGeomatics, which captured my interest.”
It seemed to be a natural step for Ifeanyi to become a Group Leader. In most places he has been, such as schools, organizations, and clubs, he has held a leadership position based on his qualities. Back when he took his Bachelors in Nigeria, Ifeanyi was the Director of socials. In his workplaces, he has been an assistant team lead or a team lead, project coordinator, or supervisor. Currently, in SAIT, he is the BGIS Club president.
Ifeanyi hopes to share his experiences, both life and geospatial with GoGeomatics Social participants.
Do you live in Calgary? Want to join our networking socials? Be a part of our community here.
