Character Spotlight ‘Dioptra’

Welcoming Dioptra’s new character a mountain bluebird! Long standing supporters of GKiS, please read on to learn more about them:

1. Company Name – Our name is Dioptra—named after the ancient Greek astronomical and surveying instrument, the dioptra.
2. Location – We are located in Chubbuck, Idaho and service all of Eastern Idaho.
3. Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey? The surveying industry, like many technical fields, faces an aging workforce. Encouraging young people to get involved in surveying helps ensure a pipeline of future professionals who will be essential to the growth and sustainability of the industry. Many people aren’t aware of the opportunities available in surveying. By helping to “Get Kids into Survey,” we are raising awareness about the profession and its importance in building infrastructure, mapping land, and understanding our environment. It can help foster a better understanding of how surveying impacts everything from construction to land boundaries.
4. What do you do? We are a land surveying and consulting company that provides full-service land surveying services on residential, commercial, roadway, and land development projects. Our team’s mission is to provide accurate and effective land surveying solutions that are responsive to our client’s needs in an innovative, professional, and quality manner.
5. How long have you been in the survey industry? Dioptra was founded in 2000. After 25 years in business, we are happy to see how our business has grown and served the region.
6. How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? I started working on a survey crew as a summer job in high school. After that summer, I was hooked! I decided to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Geomatics and then from there earned the necessary experience to become a professional land surveyor. The rest is history!
7. State a funny fact about you: I can be a bit clumsy when perched on a wire or a fence post. My long, slender body and slightly awkward stance often makes me look like I’m trying a little too hard. Almost like I am always trying to look “cool” but occasionally lose my balance!
8. Favorite piece of kit and why? My favorite survey instrument is our 3D laser scanner. We can collect millions of data points in just a few seconds. After we process the individual point clouds and stitch them all together, we create one big point cloud that you can pan and zoom around in, making it feel like you are standing on site.
9. Favorite Survey technique and why? I love creating topographic maps! Using equipment such as a drone, 3D scanner, GNSS, or robotic total stations, we collect data of the natural and man-made features of the land. We then create surfaces models and maps of the land’s contours, bodies of water, utilities, and structures like buildings and roads.
10. Your website
11. How did you choose the character and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name? Sky the Bluebird Guy is a mountain bluebird—Idaho’s state bird. The mountain bluebird is a symbol of hope, love, and renewal. It is a beautiful little bird that lives in the higher elevations, giving it its name.