CV

ROSS DAVISON 

rhdaviso@gmail.com | +1 650 793 5087 | San Francisco, CA

A remote sensing specialist innovating tools to protect our natural capital and the communities that rely on them. Particular expertise in 3D reality capture technology methods and applications. Spent nearly a decade working with private, public, and multinational stakeholders to enact high tech, innovative conservation methods. Worked on more than 90 projects worldwide and has conducted trainings in North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Focuses on quantifying and assesses anthropogenic activity and environmental hazard effects on the natural world to better mitigate negative outcomes and improve the resiliency of vulnerable coastal communities. Experience in full project lifespan: from designing initial strategy to deliverable rollout and communication.

Education

University of California Santa Cruz
MSc, Coastal Science and Policy

University of California Santa Cruz
BA, Anthropology

2020

2012

  • Developed technological solutions to fill conservation data gaps

  • Informed strategy including: invasive species eradication efforts, algae bloom and eutrophication mitigation, sea level rise impact analysis, flooding community impact modeling, restoration evaluation

  • The Nature Conservancy, The National Estuarine Research Reserve System, The World Bank, Researchers with University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz.

Independent Conservation Technologist

Period - Dec 2018 - June 2020

Factum Foundation Project Manager

Period - Sept 2017 - Feb 2018

  • Created new methods and standards for capture and analysis: Photogrammetry, LiDAR, Machine Learning

  • Guided strategy and communication with: stakeholder management, funding support, technology partners, media outreach, and local engagement

  • Project planning including: logistics, equipment selection, supervision of data collection, and data processing

  • Deliverable creation: digital models, interactive environments, instruction manuals, facsimile reproduction

CyArk Field Manager

Period - June 2015 - June 2017 

  • Spearheaded logistical planning and data collection efforts for 72 field projects

  • Managed Field Team (3 people) and production team (4 people)

  • Conducted international training activities with universities and heritage managers in 13 countries with underrepresented communities: women in STEM and ethnically marginalized groups in the Middle East

  • Established public and private partnerships for the successful completion of projects

  • Supervised deliverables: conservation products, 3Dmodels, VR environments, and web/mobile applications

CyArk Production Lead

Period - Sept 2013 - June 2015

  • Managed the production team (3 individuals)

  • Planned and executed collection of data in the field and lead partner training workshops

  • Create and design multimedia for web portals including: pointcloud animations, interactive photo-realistic 3D meshes, data perspective, 3D models, and interactive gamescapes

CyArk Production Specialist

Period - Aug 2012 - Sept 2013

  • Lead laser scanning technician and photographer

  • Processed point cloud data to create 2D and 3D deliverables for a variety of international projects

  • Created multimedia web content

  • Managed undergraduate interns (2 individuals)

CalIT2/CISCA3 Undergraduate Researcher

Period - Dec 2011 -  Aug 2012 

 

  • Processed, analyzed, and prepared point cloud data

  • Created content for dissemination of historic assets found during the 2010 and 2011 ELRAP field season

Presentations and Workshops

Deep Analytics to Fill Information Gaps and Reduce Monitoring Costs
Presentation - 6th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6), 2020, Kiel, Germany

Technology in Archaeology
Keynote Presentation - National Geographic Explorer’s Symposium, 2016, Washington D.C

Heritage at Risk: Methods of Preservation
Workshop – Templo Mayor Conservation Team, 2016, Mexico City, Mexico

Merging Terrestrial and Nautical Archaeology
Workshop – Haifa University, 2015,
Caesarea Maritima, Israel.

Documentation and Modeling: Repurposing Heritage
Workshop – University of California, Davis, 2015,
Davis, CA.

Preserving and Imaging Heritage
Workshop - University of Southern Indiana, 2015, Historic New Harmony, IN.

New Techniques Preserving Cultural Heritage Sites Workshop – Horn Heritage and Ministry of Culture, 2014, Hargeisa, Somaliland

Project Anqa: Preserving Endangered Heritage
Workshop – UNESCO, ICOMOS, and Director General of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus, 2016, Beirut, Lebanon

Emergency Response Assessment using Reality Capture
Workshop - Department of Archaeology, 2016,
Bagan, Myanmar.

The Digital Preservation of Pakistan’s Heritage
Workshop - Lahore University of Management Sciences, 2015, Lahore, Pakistan. 

A Virtual Pilgrimage
Presentation - TUMO Informational Center, 2015
Yerevan, Armenia

Preserving Armenian Heritage
Workshop - TUMO Center, 2015,
Yerevan Armenia

Rust and Lasers: Preservation of a National Treasure
Keynote Presentation - Faro 3D Conference, 2014,
Orlando, FL

Grants and Fellowships

National Geographic Society
Rescue and Assessment Grant, 2016
Young Explorer Conservation Trust Grant, 2015

Wells Fargo
Coastal Science and Policy Program Fellowship, 2018

United States State Department
Citizen Science and Ecology Grant, 2016

Packard Foundation
Packard Coastal Sustainability Fellow, 2018

Wild Gift
Environmental Entrepreneurs Fellow, 2020