Gary Thompson’s name has been showing up in some very high-profile places: In fact, on some of the most prestigious lists for a professional with expertise in the Global Positioning System (GPS), the satellite technology that supports everything from mapping apps on your smartphone to weather forecasts and military operations.
Thompson serves as North Carolina Emergency Management’s assistant director for risk management, as well as chief of the North Carolina Geodetic Survey. He is licensed as a Professional Land Surveyor.
Thompson recently received word from NASA that he was appointed to the National Space-Based Position, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee, an independent board that advises the U.S. government on GPS matters.
The same week he was nominated and accepted a seat on that board, he was also appointed by the federal government’s Department of the Interior to serve as a member of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) — another board that advises government as it establishes GPS-related policy. The NGAC provides advice and recommendations, through the Department of the Interior, on management of Federal and national geospatial programs, the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.