Dr. Peterson is a Support Representative for Leica Geosystems. He has over 36 years of experience as a professional surveyor, engineer, constructor, mapper, educator, and researcher with his FAA Remote Pilot Certificate. He completed his Civil Engineering PhD in 2015 where he focused on surveying and mapping. His career took him across North America, Europe, and Australia promoting mobile mapping and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). He was an Assistant Professor at several universities where he taught surveying and construction. He was also the program coordinator of a UAS degree. His professional career includes Consolidation Coal Company, McCarthy Bridge & Heavy, the Center of Expertise for Photogrammetric Mapping at the US Army Corps of Engineers. He has been a Vice-President of aerial mapping companies such as Sanborn & Surdex. He also managed and owned several engineering, surveying, construction companies, and was a Domain Expert for Trimble Navigation and Gatewing. He was part of a $20 million dollar research project through the National Science Foundation using UAS to collect high accuracy imagery to model the effects of climate on plants. He also had a research project with the Natural Resources Conservation Service where he investigated using UAS for wetland compliance. Prior to coming to Leica, he was a project engineer for the City of Springfield, Missouri where he managed infrastructure projects. He is passionate about all things geospatial, teaching, and his research.