Vice President Matthew B. Higgins, 2007-2010

Curriculum Vitae Mr. Matthew B. Higgins Date of birth: 3 December 1960 Nationality: Australian Status: Married to Jane with 3 children Current Position: Principal Surveyor with the Department of Natural Resources and Water, Queensland, Australia

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Applied Science, Surveying (With Distinction), Queensland University of Technology, 1983. Three prizes including best academic record.
• Registered and Licensed, Surveyors Board of Queensland, 1985.
• Master of Surveying and Mapping Science, University of Queensland, 1988.
• Presently a PhD Candidate (part time, external) at the University of New South Wales.

Career Highlights

Established as a leader in Australia in operational Geodesy and in the development of Global Navigation Satellite Systems, including; Datum Transformations, GPS Controlled Photogrammetry, Geodetic Infrastructure and establishment of the first GPS RTK Network in the Southern Hemisphere.

Matt has received several awards during his career, including:

• The National Excellence in Surveying Award from the Institution of Surveyors Australia in 1994.
• Australia Day Achievement Medallion in 1999.
• Award for Continuing Professional Development from the Institution of Surveyors Australia, Queensland Division in 2000.
• Elected a Fellow of the Institution of Surveyors Australia in 2001, which has since also been recognised as a Fellow of the Spatial Sciences Institute.
• At the 2005 Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards of the Spatial Sciences Institute, Matt received the award for “Professional Eminence and Excellence in the Spatial Sciences”. It represents the highest personal award available in recognition of an individual’s contribution to the Spatial Sciences.

Industry Representations

In 2006, Matt was elected Vice President of the International Federation of Surveyors (Federation Internationale des Geometres - FIG) for the calendar years 2007 to 2010. He is also the FIG representative on the UN mandated International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems and negotiated the MoU between FIG and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, which was signed in 2004.

Matt is his Department's representative on:

• The Emerging Issues and Futures Committee of the Australia and New Zealand Land Information Council;
• The Geodesy Technical Sub-Committee of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping for Australia and New Zealand;
• The Working Group on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) of the Queensland Spatial Information Council;
• In recent years, Matt has also represented the Department in research and development collaborations with the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC-SI) and the CRC for Satellite Systems (CRC-SS);
• Matt is also a past member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the US based magazine GPS World.

Presentations

• Higgins, Matthew, 2008, Legal Traceability of GPS Measurements in Australia, FIG Working Week 2008, Stockholm, Sweden, 14-19 June 2008, (Paper 2944).
  • Handouts of the presentation
• Picco, J., M. B. Higgins, R. Sarib, G. Johnston and G. Blick, 2006, Streamlining the Exchange of Geodetic Data in Australia and New Zealand, XXIII FIG International Congress, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Munich, Germany, 13-18 October, 2006, (Paper 0502).
  • Paper
  • Handouts of the presentation
• Enemark, S., and M.B. Higgins, 2006, The Global Development Agenda, Its Relevance to the Asia Pacific Region and the Role of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG). Presented at the Combined 5th Trans Tasman Survey Conference & 2nd Queensland Spatial Industry Conference 2006 - Cairns, 18-23 September 2006.
• Higgins, M.B., C. Rizos and S. Hewitson, 2006, Next Generation Global Navigation Satellite Systems, 5th FIG Regional Conference for Africa, Accra, Ghana, 8-11 March 2006.
  • Paper
  • Handouts of the presentation
• Higgins, M.B., 2002, Australia's Changing Surveying Infrastructure from Marks in the Ground to Virtual Reference Stations, XXII FIG International Congress, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Washington, DC, USA, 19-26 April 2002.
• Higgins, M.B., 2002, Commission 5 Activities in the Future: 2002-2006 Work Plan, XXII FIG International Congress, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Washington, DC, USA, 19-26 April 2002.
• Higgins, M.B. and N. Talbot, 2001, Centimetres for Everyone: Initial Results from an Australian Virtual Reference Station Network Pilot Project, SatNav 2001, The 5th International Symposium on Satellite Navigation Technology and Applications, Canberra, Australia, 24 - 27 July 2001.
• Higgins, M.B., 2001, An Australian Pilot Project for A Real Time Kinematic GPS Network Using the Virtual Reference Station Concept, FIG Working Week 2001, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Seoul, Korea 6 - 11 May 2001.
• Higgins, M.B., 2001, Guidelines for GPS Surveying in Australia, FIG Working Week 2001, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Seoul, Korea 6 - 11 May 2001.
• Foster, R.W., M.B. Higgins and J. Ryttersgaard, 2001, Spatial Information Management in the 21st Century, 7th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for the Americas, United Nations, New York, USA, 22 - 26 January 2001.
  • Powerpoint Presentation
• Sproule, D.M., A.H.W. Kearsley and M.B. Higgins, 2000, Impact of BRAGS'99 Airborne Gravimetric Data on Geoid Computations in Australia, and Possibilities for Utilisation of Bathymetric Information, Presented at: IAG Conference on Gravity, Geoids and Geodynamics 2000 (GGG2000), Banff, Alberta, 31 July - 4 August, 2000.
• Cross, P.A., M.B. Higgins and R. Lott, 2000, Reference Frames in Practice: The Role of Professional, Scientific, Standards and Commercial Organisations, FIG Working Week 2000, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Prague, Czech Republic, 22 - 26 May 2000.
• Higgins, M.B., 2000, Heighting with GPS: Review of Limitations and Possibilities, GIM International, Vol 14, No. 2, February 2000.
• Higgins, M.B., 1999, Positioning and Measurement into the 21st Century, A Keynote Paper at the 6th South East Asian Surveyors Congress, Fremantle, Australia, 1 -6 November 1999.
• Higgins, M.B., 1999, The Use of GPS for the Maintenance and Investigation of Tidal Datum, 6th South East Asian Surveyors Congress, Fremantle, Australia, 1 -6 November 1999.
• Paul A. Cross, P.A., P. B. H. Davies, A. H. Dodson and M. B. Higgins, 1999, Reference Frames In Practice - FIG Working Group 5.5, FIG Working Week 1999, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Sun City, South Africa, May 1999.
• Higgins, M.B., 1999, Heighting with GPS: Possibilities and Limitations, In the Proceedings of: Geodesy and Surveying in the Future: The Importance of Heights, Jubilee Seminar: 25 Year of Motorised Levelling, Sponsored by Commission 5 of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Gavle, Sweden, March 15-17 1999.
• Higgins, M.B., A.H. Dodson, R. Lott and R. Rodriquez, 1998, Reference Systems and Heighting and the FIG, XXI International Congress of the International Federation of Surveyors, Brighton, United Kingdom, 19-25 July, Reigate Press.
• Higgins, M.B., G.J. Broadbent and R. Martin, 1998, The Use of the Global Positioning System for the Maintenance and Investigation of Tidal Datum: A Case Study in Queensland, Australia, XXI International Congress of the International Federation of Surveyors, Brighton, United Kingdom, 19-25 July, Reigate Press.
• Higgins, M.B., R. Forsberg and A.H.W. Kearsley, 1998, The Effects of Varying Cap Sizes on Geoid Computations: Experiences with FFT and Ring Integration, in: R. Forsberg, M. Feissl, and R. Deitrich (eds), Geodesy on the Move: Gravity, Geoid, Geodynamics and Antartica, IAG Symposia Vol. 119, Springer, Berlin Germany.

Contacts

Matt Higgins
Manager Geodesy and Positioning
Department of Environment and Resource Management
Locked Bag 40
COORPAROO DC
Qld 4151 Australia
(Level 2, Landcentre, Corner of Main and Vulture Streets
Woolloongabba, Qld, 4102)
Tel: +61 7 389 63754 
Fax: +61 7 3896 3697 
Email: matt.higgins@nrw.qld.gov.au 
Web page: http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/property/surveying

17 April 2009