Post COVID Conference Success for the Canadian Hydrographic Community

The 2022 Canadian Hydrographic Conference (CHC2022) took place June 6-9th in Gatineau this month. What a pleasure it was to be in person with other members of the geospatial community in Canada, as well as with delegates from as far-flung places as Australia and other corners of the world. The CHC is the biennial conference hosted by the Canadian Hydrographic Association (CHA) and has not taken place due to COVID until now.

The organizers at the CHA hit a home run with great content, a fantastic venue, and service provided by the event staff at Hilton Lac-Leamy was really exceptional from my perspective. As the organizer of GeoIgnite, Canada’s national Geospatial conference, I tend to notice these things. The exhibition had 40 booths. I circulated among the exhibitors asking them about their products and services, and the running theme was how glad they were all to be back in person. I saw a lot of colleagues who had not seen each other for a few years reacquainting themselves and catching up.

During the conference, an announcement was made by TCarta Marine. The office of TCarta Canada has been formed in Ottawa, Ontario. TCarta Canada is a global provider of hydrospatial products and services such as Trident SDB Toolbox Software and the complete line of TCarta Satellite-derived bathymetry. This new office is a partnership between TCarta Marine and Prof. Anders Knudby.

There were several distinguished keynote speakers for this event. Speakers included Canada’s Ocean Supercluster Chief Technology Officer, Susan Hunt; Professor and the Director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire, Larry Mayer; Professor at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire, John Hughes Clarke; Director General – Canadian Hydrographic Service, Dr. Genevieve Bechard; Secretary-General of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), Dr. Mathias Jonas, and Director of the NOAA Office of Coast Survey, Rear Admiral Benjamin K. Evans.

The highlight of the event, for me, was attending the “Women In Hydrography” presentation on June 7th. Here are some photos of the event.

Ms. Susan Hunt, Chief Technology Officer at Ocean Supercluster, presentation today was really special and greatly attended. Thank you!@susanhunt #chc2022 #hydrography #womeninhydrography #worldoceansday pic.twitter.com/irYnQmDwu7

— The Canadian Hydrographic Association (@canhydrographic) June 8, 2022

@ACLSAATWomen in Hydrography at CHC2022. Thank you for attending our networking events!#womeninhydrography #empoweringwomen #chc2022 #hydrography pic.twitter.com/yGs5YhpXIH

— The Canadian Hydrographic Association (@canhydrographic) June 9, 2022

NSCC Geomatics Research Scientist, Dr. Tim Webster, enjoyed seeing some familiar faces, getting caught up on the latest in hydrography and doing some site seeing at #CHC2022 in Gatineau this week. Thanks for hosting @canhydrographic! pic.twitter.com/BktdcMbEaz

— NSCC Research (@NSCCResearch) June 9, 2022

This accomplished conference would not have been successful without the support of its partners. We would like to extend thanks to all of the conference partners this year.  CHC Platinum Partner was Esri, and Gold Partner was Teledyne Imaging. CHC Silver Partners were Maritime Robotics, Konsberg, and Ocean Group. Bronze Partners included NV5 Geospatial, IIC Technologies, QPS Maritime Software Solutions, iXblue, and Woolpert. GoGeomatics was the Media sponsor for the Event.