From Jan. 22-23, Fresno State’s Student Association of Geomatics Engineering (SAGE) chapter hosted its 65th Annual Geomatics Engineering Conference, which included activities such as guest speakers, student awards and a common place for students and professionals to meet.
The two-day event was put on by SAGE’s 2026 Conference team, which consists of 21 students. The committee team starts planning the event months prior, often the day after the conference. Geomatics Engineering is a part of the Lyles College of Engineering.
“I used to keep to myself, but then coming to the conference last year and the year before that, I saw how much this conference really did for other students, and it made me want to be more involved this year, especially it being my third year [as a student],” said Natasha Iqbal, resident of SAGE and conference chair.
Iqbal went into detail regarding the logistics of hosting an event as a Fresno State student and how she believes the SAGE team grew closer due to the hard work and dedication to put on a conference.
Scott Peterson, associate professor at Fresno State and adviser for SAGE, recalled attending his first goematics engineering conference in 2015 and started seeing an increase in support for the event. He added that alumni and vendors continue coming to the conference to support Fresno State students because they have attended before and want to see it grow.
“I love the awards the students get,” Peterson said. “I love to see their faces of joy and excitement, and it’s kind of a culminating joy. Take Natasha here, she won a big award.”
Iqbal was one of the many students who won a scholarship at the annual conference.
“Sometimes, during the regular school year, you don’t see your student smile that much,” Peterson said. “Cause they are stressed and everything else, but they’ve worked their tails off.”
According to ABC30, more than $1 million in scholarships were awarded to Fresno State’s geomatics students through the annual geomatics engineering conference.
Most of the money is donated by Fresno State alumni, local chapters of SAGE and local agencies who recognize the need for financial assistance. Community members join together to provide internships and jobs to students.
“Geomatics is the backbone of industry,” Peterson said. “Everything relies on the work these students do. We go [to the construction site] before anyone’s there, we help out during the construction, and we go after.”
SAGE will be organizing its 66th conference for the next school year and its organizers are looking forward to getting involved in different events, such as Fresno State’s three-day festival, Vintage Days, which is on April 17-19.
