Matthew Vinopal, a supervisor in our aerial mapping group, recently earned two major certifications as he advances his credentials and capabilities within the geospatial community. Vinopal is now Ayres Associates’ second certified photogrammetrist and the firm’s first certified mapping scientist in lidar (light detection and ranging). He also is a GIS Institute-certified geographic information system professional.

Vinopal’s photogrammetry and lidar certifications are administered by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vinopal qualified for the certifications by recently passing the exams for each, as well as documenting at least six years of photogrammetry experience and three years of lidar experience and providing four references. Vinopal has 18 years of professional experience, 17 of which have been with Ayres Associates.

As supervisor, Vinopal has played an integral role in developing an outstanding lidar processing group and has led complex lidar missions for projects around the country. This includes the completion of approximately 50,000 square miles of lidar for local government, state departments of transportation, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Vinopal personally oversees all lidar projects from start to finish, maintaining oversight on all project requirements and ensuring accuracy expectations are met and deliverables are complete. Vinopal has undertaken the responsibility of understanding a variety of nationally recognized accuracy standards that are applied to our lidar mapping projects.

Vinopal holds a bachelor of science degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.