Industrial Geodesy

Industrial Geodesy describes most surveying tasks at SLAC. Where geodesy generally is concerned with very large regions (e.g., the earth, a country or a part of a country), Industrial Geodesy involves smaller areas such as inside accelerator tunnels or measurements of smaller objects such as magnets and other components. Positioning is the primary geodetic task at SLAC and usually only concerned with the local gravity field and with temporal variations observed through deformation monitoring.

Industrial Geodesy also encompasses a broader range of techniques outside of geodesy found in the discipline of geomatics. These techniques include the application of various known geomatic methods such as photogrammetry and GPS (Global Positioning System). They also include new methods developed using electronic, mechanical or optical instrumentation or combinations therein.

At SLAC we have three types of geodetic personnel: Geodetic Engineers, Surveying Engineers, and Surveying Technicians.