The Carnegie Institution (Washington, USA) purchases Optech’s ALTM 3100EA

Toronto, July 5, 2006 — Optech Incorporated, the global leader in the development and manufacture of laser-based survey instruments, is pleased to announce the sale of an ALTM 3100EA to the Carnegie Institute of Washington. For this purchase, Optech’s latest iteration of the highly successful ALTM 3100 will come equipped with an Intelligent Waveform Digitizer module, enabling more complex and thorough data analysis.

This is Carnegie’s first purchase of an ALTM system. The Department of Global Ecology, part of Carnegie Institute, will use the ALTM in a program called the Carnegie Airborne Observatory Program (CAO).  The ALTM will be one of two core instruments in the CAO sensor package. Carnegie’s purchase of the ALTM was funded by a grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

“Optech is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such a renowned institution as Carnegie,” says Jim Green, Regional Sales Manager for Optech. “With this sale we have opened the doors to further collaboration between our two organizations. Research institutes like Carnegie can aid in keeping us updated on the latest information. In addition, their uses of lidar technology in the field will open doors to new applications for the equipment.”

“The ALTM 3100EA lidar with waveform capability is a crucial part of our advanced airborne remote sensing effort,” comments Dr. Greg Asner, head of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory program. “The Optech design is certainly the state-of-the-art in small footprint, waveform lidar technology, which will advance our studies of terrestrial ecosystems far into the future.”

About Optech
Optech is the world leader in the development, manufacture and support of advanced laser-based survey instruments. The company offers client-driven solutions in airborne terrestrial mapping, airborne laser bathymetry, 3D laser imaging, space-based atmospheric monitors, spaceborne landing/docking systems, mine cavity monitoring systems, and industrial process control equipment.

About Carnegie
The Carnegie Institution of Washington is a private organization founded in 1902 by Andrew Carnegie, with the goal of increasing scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity. Its scientists have made many of the major scientific discoveries of the last century, on topics ranging from the nature of the genetic code to the prevalence of dark matter in the universe. 

To commemorate its centennial, the Institution launched its Department of Global Ecology in 2002. Global Ecology is the Institution’s first new department in more than 80 years. The mission of the Department of Global Ecology is basic research on the interactions among the earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere, and oceans. To ensure that this mission persists into the future, the Department is deeply involved in the training of future scientists, especially graduate and undergraduate students from Stanford.

For further information, please contact:
Jim Green
Regional Sales Manager, Western USA
Optech Incorporated
300 Interchange Way
Vaughan, ON L4K 5Z8
Tel: (905) 660-0808
Fax: (905) 660-0829
www.optech.ca

Dr Gregory P. Asner
Carnegie Institution
Department of Global Ecology
260 Panama Street
Stanford, CA 94305
Tel: (650) 462-1047
Fax: (650) 462-5968
www.carnegieinstitution.org