Penn State Wilkes-Barre adds surveying equipment through foundation donation

An image of data collectors used in surveying engineering

The new data collectors in a lab at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

Credit: Penn State

DALLAS, Pa. — Penn State Wilkes-Barre has received a donation from the Pennsylvania Land Surveyors’ (PLS) Foundation, enabling the program to purchase additional equipment.

The $5,000 contribution was used to purchase two Leica CS-20 field data collectors, bringing the total of new data collectors to eight.

“We are grateful for the support of the PLS Foundation and excited for these new tools,” said Dimitrios Bolkas, associate professor of surveying engineering and program coordinator. “They will expand our capabilities and allow us to serve more students with the latest equipment. Nearly every course in our program will use the data collectors.”

Data collectors are the main interface that students use to collect data sets in the surveying engineering field. They are the main computational component of surveying field work.

The PLS Foundation works to promote, improve and encourage the profession and practice of land surveying in Pennsylvania. The foundation has previously assisted Penn State Wilkes-Barre students by awarding scholarships to attend the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors’ annual conference and National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) Student Competition in Washington, D.C.

“The PLS Foundation has provided $405,400 in scholarships to Pennsylvania resident college students enrolled in a land surveying program since 1990,” said Michael Given, Pennsylvania NSPS director, a member of the PSLS executive committee and board, and secretary/treasurer for the PLS. “We are pleased to continue our support of Penn State Wilkes-Barre and its students. In addition to the conferences, the PLS Foundation also sponsors an NSPS Trig-Star event for high school students held each March at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.”

The campus’ surveying engineering program has also recently added a new drone and a laser scanner. The equipment complements the program’s new curriculum, which was designed to align with current and future industry trends.

“In terms of equipment and software, we are one of the most well equipped surveying programs in the country,” Bolkas said. “It’s important for us to provide students with the latest tools so they can have access to what professionals are using in the field. By the time they graduate, they will be prepared to use the equipment already being used by potential employers.”

Nathan Crotts, a senior and lab assistant in the surveying engineering program, said, “The new data collectors are physically and internally modernized toward industry standards. The new software they use has enhanced user friendliness, allowing students to more easily navigate and comprehend the capabilities of a data collector. Teaching students on modern equipment allows us to be proficient with a tool that we may encounter in our career. I believe the data collectors will be a great benefit to the future of the surveying program at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.”

Penn State Wilkes-Barre offers the only four-year and two-year surveying programs in Pennsylvania.

Donors like the PLS Foundation advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.