Gary began his surveying career in 1980, working as a rodman out of Canfield, Ohio. He spent time working as a draftsman, engineering technician, and instrument man and has been a licensed Professional Surveyor in Ohio since 1992, providing expert witness testimony and performing boundary, construction, and engineering-related surveys throughout much of northeastern Ohio. Gary serves on a team of subject matter experts for the Ohio Professional Surveyor Examination Committee of the State board of Registration and in similar capacity to help update the national FS exam blueprint in 2018. Gary earned a master’s degree in 2001 and has been a full-time faculty member at The University of Akron since 1999 in one of only 23 accredited Surveying programs in the United States.
As part of a 4-month sabbatical from teaching in 2016, he began exploring the application of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and how this might impact surveying and mapping professional services and education. After passing the Part 107 exam he began to incorporate UAS into surveying classes such as Applied Photogrammetry and UAS Mapping.
Gary’s wife Susan says that “he loves surveying so much that he talks about it in his sleep.” His reply: “if you ever decide to give up your nursing career, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a surveyor!” Gary has been an active volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Summit County, completing 30 surveying service-learning projects with over 300 of his students since 2001.