Drew Knight, CP, has joined Ayres’ Aerial Mapping Group as a lidar professional, bringing six years of geospatial experience in private consulting and public sector transportation markets. He is responsible for designing project approaches, bringing new technology solutions, and ensuring lidar projects meet client standards for quality and accuracy. Knight will be supporting all facets of mobile, unmanned aerial system (UAS), and fixed-wing lidar projects, from acquisition through production and client delivery.

Knight has experience leading the collection and processing of aerial imagery and mobile and aerial lidar data. His project experience includes data collection and analysis to support transportation, energy, and environmental projects. He is skilled in MicroStation, Civil3D, Pix4D, and ArcGIS.

Knight holds a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 remote pilot certificate and has trained and overseen a team of UAS pilots collecting and processing data for corridor mapping projects. He is experienced in UAS flight planning, ground control layout, and data processing.

“Drew has an excellent grasp of aerial mapping fundamentals and brings the problem-solving mentality to excel in this role,” says Zach Nienow, GISP, manager of Aerial Mapping. “His remote sensing experience in transportation and engineering projects will serve our team and our clients especially well.”

Knight earned a master’s degree in geography from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in geography from James Madison University. He is an American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) certified photogrammetrist.