Truck-tastic Tuesday! A Vehicle for Every Condition

10th Anniversary Team Reflections: Mark Anderson

When I joined Michael Baker in 2005 I was always looking for opportunities to get involved with complex and innovative projects. Within the year I as travelling the country after connecting with our geospatial group in Jackson, MS that was performing an innovative nationwide GPS-mapping program for the U.S. Census Bureau. Two years later I learned that same group was preparing to launch a new initiative centered around mobile terrestrial LiDAR, and I instantly knew I needed to be part of it.

There’s a lot of pleasure and pain that comes with being the first to do something…and for better or worse, I’ve experienced a lot of both. There are plenty of shining moments, complex challenges, weird developments and interesting discoveries to choose from, but out of the hundreds of projects we’ve performed, the West Virginia University (WVU) Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (MPRT) system was fascinating on many levels: complexity of design; learning how the PRT works; complexity of chainage measurements for each sensor throughout the network; and development of horizontal and vertical curvatures of the “track” throughout the mountain topography.

It’s almost hard to believe it’s been 10 years since we kicked-off this initiative, but it bookends my two proudest moments (to date): being asked to lead our LiDAR processing team and growing our specialized team to nearly 30 members strong.

Truck-tastic Tuesday! "And my Wolfpack, it grew by one"

10th Anniversary Team Reflections: Devion Flavell

Oh, the places you’ll go!
When I joined Michael Baker as a Mobile LiDAR Operator nearly 4 years ago, I hadn’t done much travel…boy did THAT change in a hurry. In the relatively short time I’ve been with the LiDAR Team I’ve had the opportunity to visit a diverse swath of this country. I can only imagine the sheer extent of places this Team visited in the 6-years preceding me.

I love the travel, and the opportunity to experience local events and culture. One of my favorite pastimes is exploring the Arts in each town is visit – and Columbia, SC didn’t disappoint. I spent nearly 3-weeks in Columbia and could’ve attended a different live performance or independent film just about every single day.


Throw in a diverse public art collection, ranging from outdoor sculpture to murals, and you’ve got a spot where art is both accessible and exciting. My kind of place.

Truck-tastic Tuesday! 10-Years of Fleet Advancements

10th Anniversary Team Reflections: Hunter White

I was first introduced to Michael Baker International during a career-day trip through my GIS coursework at West Virginia University. I immediately took to the company’s professional look, feel, and culture, and proceeded to immediately drop off my resume at the end of that presentation. A few, short weeks later I landed a position as a Mobile LiDAR Operator and was on the job the Monday after graduation!

I quickly learned my boss wasn’t kidding when he said I’d become a Road Warrior, because I spent nearly the entire first year traveling from project to project. But that’s what I signed-up for, and I wasn’t disappointed. From the hot summer months to the snowy winters I got to see some amazing places, but my favorite excursion had to be Washington, D.C. – my first trip to the nation’s capital and a personally-meaningful project on the Arlington Memorial Bridge and adjacent Arlington National Cemetery.
This year, with all-new LiDAR and Pavement equipment inbound, and several large-scale projects on the docket, I leveraged my collection experiences and demonstrated work ethic and jumped at the opportunity to grow with the operation, where I now supervise the field operations for our Pavement Management Solutions. I’m truly enjoying this role and feel very blessed for all the opportunities I’ve had with Michael Baker thus far.

Bringing this amazing ride full-circle, I had the opportunity this winter to host students from the West Virginia University curriculum that landed me here at Michael Baker. It was fascinating to take part in the event from the other side of the table. I got to share my experiences and take some resumes for that next budding crop of future leaders. The future looks bright for our LiDAR group and I’m thrilled to part of our continued expansion.

Sleek Lines and Smooth Drives

We enjoy the look of our new Pavement Solutions rig so much we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for some new “Headshots” during a recent trip through the ‘Burgh. 😍

10th Anniversary Team Reflections: Andrew Hughes

One of the most fulfilling experiences I have had since joining the LiDAR group full time in 2012 has been training our new team members. It gives me good insight into how everyone interprets data – which I had never realized could be so different from one technician to the next. I enjoy analyzing a team member’s skillset and tailoring effective communication with each in their own “LiDAR language”.


Helping others continues to drive me to look for a fresh perspective when handling my own production responsibilities and makes me a better supervisor and analyst; however, the big payoff in personal satisfaction comes when they succeed and in turn can move into more productive roles and tackle more complicated tasks. 

Ultimately, I’m looking to put our LiDAR group in the best position to deliver projects that represent the best of all of us.

Newest Member of the Flying Wolfpack!

A BIG congratulations to our very own Zach Mussey for successfully attaining his FAA Part 107 UAS Pilot certification. Zach joined our team in early 2019 and has been a critical addition to our Pavement Management field operations –achieving pavement certification from NCAT (National Center for Asphalt Technologies) in June of this year.

By leveraging his experience as a licensed private pilot, Zach is looking forward to applying his skills on our advanced Altavian F7200 fixed-wing and Intel Falcon 8+ VTOL aircraft. Zach’s Part 107 certification and upcoming training on our latest Mobile LiDAR systems brings us one step closer to realizing our goal of deploying a UAS with every Mobile LiDAR unit to simultaneously capture projects from above and on the ground.

Way to go, Zach! Congratulations for earning your wings, and welcome to the Flying Wolfpack!