About
Rick Chappell’s Bio
Richard Chappell has been involved in the engineering and geospatial industries for 25 years. His experience includes 9 years in US Air Force Civil Engineering, where he implemented the first base-level Geographic Information System (GIS), 14 years working in the utility industry (electric, water and waste water), 5 years with engineering consulting firms and even some time working for a large open-pit copper mine. Through it all, the common denominator has been involvement with CAD, GIS and other systems for automation. He has been an implementer and user of these systems for most of his career. He started with AutoCAD back at version 1.5. He started working with the AutoCAD Map products before it was Map (remember the Autodesk Data Extension?). He has 19 years working with ESRI applications, including workstation ArcInfo (oh, the command line!), ArcView 1, 2, 3 and ArcGIS. In addition, he has worked with MapInfo, MunMap (Generation 5 Technology), AutoGIS, GRASS, Integraph’s FRAMME, and several other systems. He is a regular speaker at various conferences, including Autodesk University, the ESRI International User Group, and the ESRI Gas and Electric User Group. He has also served as an adjunct professor for Glendale Community College. He is a Certified Autodesk Professional. He is passionate about geospatial technology and enjoys sharing his experience with anyone who shares the interest in this powerful technology.
In my own words:
Call me Rick – I reserve Richard for formal documents. Thanks for reading the blog. I really do enjoy working “geospatially” and get a real kick out of designing and modeling these systems. It’s great getting to meet and work with our customers and the wide variety of applications they have.
I have a wonderful family – my wife Lanelle and I have 6 children that are growing up fast. I even have some grandchildren now – when did I get that old? I am a musician and play fairly often around the area. I also spend a lot of my off time in Scouting – kind of my investment in the future. I like dabble with alternative energies and use an electric bicycle for some of my local travel.
I hope you enjoy the blog, and feel free to send comments and suggestions!
Rick Chappell | 
August 11, 2009 3:20 pm
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