April is recognized by Congress and most Governors across the U.S. as National Safe Digging Month as shovels (and backhoes) hit the ground for a busy season. It’s well known that excavation is a dangerous business. Excavation strikes on public utility lines lead to more than 2,000 injuries and 400 deaths each year[1]. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) states that accidental utility strikes cost the U.S. at least $30 billion annually, based on self-reported data by stakeholders and state 811 call centers. And it looks like things are getting worse, not better.

Surveying is one of the world’s most enduring professions – since ancient times, it has been key to establishing international boundaries, marking property boundaries, and ensuring that engineering and architectural structures and precisely aligned and properly constructed.

With this long history, it might follow that surveying itself is a dated profession, but the opposite is true. As advancements in astronomy and mathematics were achieved, these advancements were immediately applied to surveying.

Today has been officially known as π (Pi) day since 2009 when the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution recognizing March 14 as National Pi Day. Aside from being a great day to eat pie, it’s a great day to celebrate how mathematics, and one specific concept, has shaped our world.