HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Intergraph(R) has named Drs. Devrim Akca and Michael Cramer as the winners of its biennial Carl Pulfrich Award, which recognizes significant design and manufacturing contributions to the photogrammetry, remote sensing and earth imaging industries. The Intergraph award is dedicated in memory of Dr. Carl Pulfrich, a key member of the scientific team at Carl Zeiss, who from 1890 to 1927 oversaw the design of the company's first stereo photogrammetric and surveying instruments. Carl Zeiss later teamed with Intergraph to create Z/I Imaging, which is now Intergraph's wholly owned photogrammetry division. The award was presented on September 7 during the 52nd Photogrammetric Week in Stuttgart, Germany, an event which Pulfrich launched in 1909.

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The Carl Pulfrich Award Council considered nominees on the basis of experience, activities in photogrammetry and remote sensing and contributions to the advancement of all aspects of the earth imaging fields. Applied work involving hardware systems, software solutions or innovative service activities were also considered by the award council. During Photogrammetric Week, Drs. Akca and Cramer were presented with 2009 Carl Pulfrich Award plaques and a monetary prize of $3,750 USD each.

Dr. Akca completed a Ph.D. program in photogrammetry and remote sensing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, where he was also a senior research associate. His studies focused on a concept called 3D least squares surface matching, which has many applications in photogrammetry. He will become an assistant professor in the Department of Information Technologies at Isik University in Istanbul, Turkey in mid-September. Akca is a member of several industry associations including ISPRS and ASPRS, and is co-founder of a geospatial software company in Zurich.

Dr. Cramer is a leading researcher and senior lecturer with tenure at the Institute for Photogrammetry at Stuttgart University in Germany. He is one of the leading international experts and scientific researchers in the field of high definition airborne camera performance. He received his Ph.D. from Stuttgart University, and today specializes in integrated GPS/inertial navigation systems for airborne applications, georeferencing of airborne sensors, digital camera performance tests and digital camera calibration, validation and certification. Dr. Cramer is very active in industry groups including ISPRS, EuroSDR and the German Society of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation.

"Intergraph is proud to recognize the great contributions of Drs. Akca and Cramer to this industry, while also honoring the memory of photogrammetry pioneer, Dr. Carl Pulfrich," said Dr. Mostafa Madani, chief photogrammetrist at Intergraph and chairman of the Carl Pulfrich Award Council. "As a leader in earth imaging and photogrammetry, Intergraph feels it is important to both commemorate industry milestones and inspire future leaders so that we may continue to develop innovative technology to meet and surpass customer needs."

During Photogrammetric Week, Intergraph is also demonstrating and presenting its comprehensive range of photogrammetry solutions, from image acquisition to post-processing. Intergraph's end-to-end earth imaging solutions include digital aerial cameras, photogrammetric workstations, flight management and post-processing systems, as well as a full photogrammetric data exploitation software suite.

For more detailed information on the Carl Pulfrich Award Program, visit: http://www.intergraph.com/promo/carlpulfrichaward/

Further information on Intergraph's photogrammetry solutions can be found at: http://www.intergraph.com/photo/default.aspx

About Intergraph

Intergraph is the leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software that enables customers to visualize complex data. Businesses and governments in more than 60 countries rely on Intergraph's industry-specific software to organize vast amounts of data into understandable visual representations and actionable intelligence. Intergraph's software and services empower customers to build and operate more efficient plants and ships, create intelligent maps, and protect critical infrastructure and millions of people around the world.

Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine (PP&M) and Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I). Intergraph PP&M provides enterprise engineering software for the design, construction and operation of plants, ships and offshore facilities. Intergraph SG&I provides geospatially-powered solutions to the defense and intelligence, public safety and security, government, transportation, photogrammetry, utilities, and communications industries. For more information, visit www.intergraph.com.

(C) 2009 Intergraph Corp. All rights reserved. Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Intergraph

Web site: http://www.intergraph.com/