Bachelor's Degree in Geographic Science - Department of Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT)

GS Faculty Member Wins JMU Sustainable Business Plan Competition

Zachary Bortolot, assistant professor of Integrated Science and Technology at JMU, received top honors for his business plan for Optisilv, LLC, a remote sensing software for forest inventory applications. Bortolot developed the software that combines digital aerial photographs and a related technology known as light detection and ranging (lidar) with ground data to perform forest inventories at a lower cost and more accurately than traditional techniques. Bortolot is co-owner of the company with John Paul McTague and Mark Milligan.

In March, the CFE received 54 executive summaries during the first round from competitors representing JMU students, faculty, staff, alums and entrepreneurs from an eight-county area in the Shenandoah Valley. Those submissions were evaluated to identify the top 12 contenders and then the final four, based on the viability of the business concept, the strength of the sustainability elements, the long-term growth potential and the ability to launch within one year.

Bortolot’s product is based on timberland management processes whereby forest inventories are routinely performed to account for benefits (e.g., for carbon trading) and to maximize the forests’ economic and environmental benefits. Forests are a renewable source of building materials and paper products and remove large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, placing it in long-term storage. Bortolot is a resident of Bridgewater, Va., while his partners reside in Florida.