Paul LaRocque, Vice President, Advanced Technology Paul leads Optech’s Advanced Technology group, where he co-ordinates research and development of custom projects as well as new product models. Paul joined Optech in 1985 as a Project Scientist studying atmospheric lidar applications, after completing doctoral work in laser physics at the University of Toronto. During the 1990s and early 2000s, he managed Optech’s airborne lidar bathymetry program, which created the first generation SHOALS and HawkEye bathymeters, and led to the SHOALS 1000/3000 series. He also pioneered the integration of digital cameras with Optech’s ALTM Airborne Laser Terrain Mappers. Since he assumed leadership of Advanced Technology in 2006, the group has developed the Orion and Pegasus ALTMs and the Lynx Mobile Mapper.