As we step into 2025, the drive for simplicity, efficiency, and connectivity is reshaping the technological landscape. Three major trends—Artificial Intelligence (AI), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)—are converging to create a connected world where innovation drives smarter, faster and more intuitive solutions.

It’s been a busy year, and a very good year for the US economy. In fact, according to RSM, over the past eight quarters, the American economy has grown at an annualized 2.9%.  This performance is striking in comparison to other countries. For example, the EU’s growth during this same period was just 1.9%. The biggest economy in the EU is Germany, and its economy shrunk by 2% during the same period.

This year, Americans will be spending an average of $2,000 per person over the holidays – with more than $600 on travel, and the rest on decorations, celebrations and gifts.  For most of us, this translates to a lot of running around and spending money – and enjoying the holidays.

It’s good to know that in the background, little RFID elves have been busy keeping everything running smoothly to help make the holidays truly magical.

Human history has been shaped by colonialism, and one wave of colonialism resulted in the founding of the United States. In fact, most countries were colonized by European powers from the late fifteenth century until just after World War II. At its height, the British Empire controlled nearly a quarter of the world’s nations.

GIS was first developed in 1963 by Roger Tomlinson who used computers to handle map information for the Canadian government.  Since that time, the use of Geographic Information System technology has exploded. According to MarketsandMarkets, the GIS market is expected to reach $14.5 billion by 2025. By 2032, the market is projected to reach about $43.8 billion.

In 1996 Georg Rothbucher was visiting a customer at a construction site who was facing a difficult problem. Two thousand square meters of concrete had been poured incorrectly for the Finished Floor Level (FFL) of a new building. This surveyor was trying to recover the original reference point used to set the FFL – a chalk mark, pencil line or a nail.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology uses radio waves to identify virtually anything. It is a wireless system consisting of an RFID tag and an RFID reader. RFID tags store data that can be read, even from a distance—without making any physical contact or requiring a line of sight.

Christopher Gist came to the surveying profession naturally.  In 1736, his father, Richard surveyed the western shore of Maryland and the town of Baltimore. Though there is little information about Christopher’s childhood, it is thought that Christopher learned surveying profession from his father.

A recent survey revealed that many people believe that natural disasters are more frequent and severe than in the past. It turns out that this observation is backed up by facts. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the frequency of natural disasters is increasing year-over-year. There were 28 weather and climate disasters in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 22 in 2020, tallying a price tag of at least $92.9 billion.

Many of our founding fathers started their careers as surveyors. Along with providing an essential service, surveying was a very profitable trade in eighteenth century America. Surveyors would purchase newly opened land from the Crown and sell tracts to settlers at higher prices. This led to some resentment and suspicion by settlers – but one surveyor remained popular throughout his surveying career – and beyond.

This 8/11 is a beautiful Sunday and many homeowners will be using the day to tackle some home improvement projects, such as building a deck, installing a new mailbox or installing a fence. In fact, 74% of homeowners have or will dig on their property on their property this summer. Unfortunately, nearly 40% of these won’t call 811 ahead of time to mark buried utilities.[1]

Surveyors including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, were key to establishing the United States as a nation. Surveying in the 1700s and 1800s was both arduous and perilous. For example, one of Washington’s contemporaries, William Crawford, met a tragic end at the forefront of western expansion of European settlers in lands controlled by Native Americans.

Did you know that surveyors played a key role in creating our national parks? Our first park, Yellowstone (founded 1872), introduced the national park concept to the public and other parks soon followed – all this when most people still lived east of the Mississippi and most would not have the opportunity to see these natural wonders in person.

Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere). Because Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted about 23.4 degrees relative to its orbit around the sun, this means that the different parts of the Earth receive the amount of light based on the position of the earth in its orbit around the sun. This tilt causes the earth’s seasons - From March to September, the Northern Hemisphere tilts more toward the sun, creating spring and summer, while in the Southern Hemisphere it’s fall and winter.

Did you know that the term “geodesy” was coined by Aristotle in about 350 BC? The term is derived from the Greek word ge, which means earth, and deo, which means to divide land. He created that name to differentiate it from the field of mathematics, called geometry in ancient Greek, (ge for “earth” and metry, meaning “to measure”). Essentially, geodesy means applied math.

More than 90% of organizations use cloud computing to run enterprise applications[1]. That means that everything from hospitals and first responders to Fortune 500 companies and governments rely on the cloud. Soon, air traffic control and police departments will be cloud-based as well. Society won’t be able to function without the cloud.

AEC is the acronym for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, which is a collection of services engaged in the planning and execution of all types of construction projects. It’s essentially the term for a deep and intricate collaboration between partners in order to bring any project to fruition.

This Memorial Day, thousands of tourists will be visiting the Grand Canyon, which became a national park in 1919. As with many other national parks, surveyors played a vital role in preserving this spectacular landscape for everyone to enjoy.

Before paleontologists began scouring indigenous lands for proof of evolution in the fossil record, Native Americans had long since incorporated these “new discoveries” into their cultures. Centuries before Europeans arrived, native inhabitants of the Americas understood that the land had once been teeming with massive creatures that ruled the earth, water and sky.

If you’ve taken a trip recently, you’ve probably noticed the construction – on roads, bridges, dams, airports, railways and other large projects – causing frustrating backups and bottlenecks. Unfortunately, this inconvenience is one of the costs for years of infrastructure neglect.