Geodesy & Geomatics Engineering

“There were only five in our graduating class of 1966 and three of us, Arnold Russell, Stewart Colburne, and myself spent the final two years studying together back in our classroom in the evenings and have remained life long friends.”

Introducing our next Alumni Spotlight, Paul Ellegood!

Paul graduated from the Surveying Engineering program in 1966, well before it became the Geomatics Engineering program in 1994. Paul’s graduating class consisted of only four other students and he recounts many evenings spent with his classmates working on assigned problems. These connections have created lifelong friendships, says Paul.

While a student at UNB, Paul worked for the provincial government of New Brunswick assisting with the establishment of the province-wide survey control network. During another summer, Paul was employed by the Land Registration and Information Services, Surveys and Mapping Division to complete gravity surveys throughout the province with three other students.

Paul’s career started in geophysics, working with British American Oil for three years. After this, he started and remained in the survey industry for the duration of his career. His survey experiences have taken him all over the world and extends from the Sabine Peninsula in the Arctic, to the North Island of New Zealand.

To become a licensed land surveyor, each applicant must meet the academic requirements and complete necessary articling time to ensure work experience and competency in all aspects of surveying. After graduation, Paul articled to another UNB grad, Bill Dabbs, to obtain his Alberta Land Surveyor’s licence. Since then, Paul has worked with and employed many other UNB graduates. Paul states that he worked with several survey companies, was a partner in a few others, and eventually established Caltech Surveys Ltd. in Calgary. Caltech Survey Ltd. is still an active survey company, although Paul says “I am retired and no longer maintain any ownership.”

Paul is now a retired Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Canada Lands Surveyor and a retired professional engineer of Alberta. Paul ended his interview with “I thoroughly enjoyed my career in the survey industry, and would recommend it as a career path.”