MANTIS Director Dr. Michael J. Starek served as a panelist at the 2026 ASPRS Gulf South Region Geospatial Conference in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The panel, moderated by Kent Groh of The Geoholics, focused on geospatial and geomatics engineering, including the current state of the field and future directions. Alongside Dr. Starek, panelists included Dr. Nicholas Enwright and Rob Crawshaw, representing both academia and industry. The discussion provided valuable perspectives on emerging trends and the evolving role of geospatial technologies, including the growing influence of AI and related innovations.