Published October 11, 2023
By Christine Reed
The School of Energy Resources is pleased to welcome James Amato as a Research Scientist in the 3D Visualization Center. In his new role as a GIS Analyst, Amato will provide technical support to the research team at SER, specializing in 3D geologic models and interactive applications for outreach and analysis.
A native of Wisconsin, Amato received his B.S. and M.S degrees in Geosciences from the University Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an emphasis in sedimentology, glacial geomorphology, and geophysics.
Upon graduating in 2017, James joined the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Department of Geology as their Instrumentation Specialist. He co-instructed the UWO Geology Field Camp and co-lead other interim field courses.
In 2020, James joined the Wyoming State Geological Survey as their Map Editor and Geospatial Technical Principal. He served as the agency’s primary point of contact and subject matter expert for geographic information systems and technologies (GIST).
At SER, Amato will be leveraging his extensive experience and technical expertise to help create tools that are useful to both industry partners looking to engage in emerging energy technologies, and also to stakeholders and community members looking to fully understand the changing energy landscape.
“I am excited to be a part of the 3D Visualization Center at the School of Energy Resources and assist in bridging the gap between research and visualization by means of GIST and unmanned aerial systems (UAS),” says Amato. “I am currently in the process of implementing an ArcGIS system environment across SER and developing a UAS program that will focus on photogrammetry, LIDAR, and hyperspectral imaging.”
In addition to his work at SER, Amato is also working toward a second Master’s degree in GIST from the University of Wyoming with an emphasis in UAS.
He recently passed the Federal Aviation Administration 107 remote pilot exam and is a licensed drone pilot.
“We are very pleased to have James join our team at the Visualization Center. James brings an entirely new perspective to our existing workflow, allowing us to combine visualization tools with the software packages and workflows already core to SER,” says 3D Visualization Project Manager Kyle Summerfield. “James brings some very important skillsets to the table – expertise in geology, GIS mapping technology, and drone operation among them – to better serve the research, tooling, outreach, public education, and modeling needs of the School of Energy Resources.”
