C&EE 129L
Engineering Geomatics
Description: Lecture, two hours; laboratory, four hours; outside study, six hours. Collection, processing, and analysis of geospatial data. Ellipsoid and geoid models of shape of Earth. Sea level, height, and geopotential surfaces. Elements and usage of topographic data and maps. Advanced global positioning systems (GPS) for high-precision mapping. Advanced laser-based light detection and ranging (LIDAR) mapping. Quantitative terrain analysis and change detection. Hydrogeomatics: seafloor mapping. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
1 of 1
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - This class was great. The topic itself was really cool--we learned about all sorts of surveying topics, from level-rod methods to UAV aerial imaging. Hands-on labs were fun as well; we got to wear a LiDAR backpack that was worth like several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Overall, the class is extremely manageable. Only 1 lecture and lab per week, and labs always finished early. Homeworks/lab assignments would take around 1-2 hours max, and the final project was also kind of fun because we got to use cool software (ArcGIS pro). No midterm, only a final and final project. Professor was fantastic and shoutout to Margit for being an awesome TA!
Spring 2024 - This class was great. The topic itself was really cool--we learned about all sorts of surveying topics, from level-rod methods to UAV aerial imaging. Hands-on labs were fun as well; we got to wear a LiDAR backpack that was worth like several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Overall, the class is extremely manageable. Only 1 lecture and lab per week, and labs always finished early. Homeworks/lab assignments would take around 1-2 hours max, and the final project was also kind of fun because we got to use cool software (ArcGIS pro). No midterm, only a final and final project. Professor was fantastic and shoutout to Margit for being an awesome TA!
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2018 - Professor Kayen is a really interesting guy with a lot to say about the topic of geomatics. He works at USGS and teaches at Berkeley so he's a very busy guy and only flies down to Westwood for lectures and labs. Make sure to chat with him, he is a cool person whose primary goal is to excite you and help you learn. Despite his immense passion and energy for the subject, I found the material very dry and had trouble paying attention to his presentations. If you have a passion for things like geodesy and satellite imagery then take this class by all means. The labs are very laid back and you'll get to hang around Wilson Plaza a lot. Definitely a class to take with friends if you have any. The labs and assignments for this class were generally unclear in their directions and sometimes graded down arbitrarily, but if you keep an open dialogue with your TA this won't be an issue. When I took it we had one midterm and one quiz and both were pretty hard to study for given the breadth of material; Kayen doesn't highlight what you need to know very clearly, and I feel like he only tested us so he could get an exam grade to enter and not so we would digest the material. Overall I liked the professor a lot but would have preferred a more straightforward, consistent class.
Spring 2018 - Professor Kayen is a really interesting guy with a lot to say about the topic of geomatics. He works at USGS and teaches at Berkeley so he's a very busy guy and only flies down to Westwood for lectures and labs. Make sure to chat with him, he is a cool person whose primary goal is to excite you and help you learn. Despite his immense passion and energy for the subject, I found the material very dry and had trouble paying attention to his presentations. If you have a passion for things like geodesy and satellite imagery then take this class by all means. The labs are very laid back and you'll get to hang around Wilson Plaza a lot. Definitely a class to take with friends if you have any. The labs and assignments for this class were generally unclear in their directions and sometimes graded down arbitrarily, but if you keep an open dialogue with your TA this won't be an issue. When I took it we had one midterm and one quiz and both were pretty hard to study for given the breadth of material; Kayen doesn't highlight what you need to know very clearly, and I feel like he only tested us so he could get an exam grade to enter and not so we would digest the material. Overall I liked the professor a lot but would have preferred a more straightforward, consistent class.
AD
1 of 1
