SpaceQ Space news and analysis.
The Liberal government this evening announced the ten people selected to serve on Canada’s latest edition of a Space Advisory Board. The new Board has already met once, last Thursday, and is getting ready to start a cross-Canada consultation process which start this Friday in Ottawa.
The Board members come from academia, industry, non-profit organizations and include members from across Canada.
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development said “Canada’s space sector has a world-class reputation and is a key contributor to innovation. The technologies that are designed for today’s space program can be applied in the future to the everyday lives of Canadians. That means the investments we make in today’s space sector are investments in a higher standard of living tomorrow. That is why the renewed Space Advisory Board has been tasked with developing a fresh vision for the sector. Its work will result in a blueprint that will guide the development of the next generation of space technologies and inspire the next generation of space scientists.”
Meet the New Space Advisory Board
Marie Lucy Stojak, HEC Montréal, Chair of the Board
Dr. Marie Lucy Stojak is the Director of the School on Management of Creativity and Innovation at HEC Montréal, Canada’s oldest business school. She is a space law expert and has over 25 years of international experience in the aerospace sector, including interests in space commercialization, space and security, and Earth observation data policy issues.
James Drummond, Dalhousie University
Dr. James Drummond is a professor at Dalhousie University. He has been involved in many space and space-related experiments, both in the U.K. and in Canada, for over 40 years.
William MacDonald Evans, W. MacDonald Evans Consulting Inc.
William MacDonald Evans is President of W. MacDonald Evans Consulting Inc. and a member of the Board of Directors of a public start-up remote sensing company in Vancouver. His space career has spanned more than 45 years in several Canadian government departments and in industry, working in all areas of the Canadian space program (R&D, program management, policy development, stakeholder consultations and international relations). He was President of the Canadian Space Agency for seven years (1994 to 2002).
Stephane Germain, GHGSat
Stéphane Germain is President and CEO of GHGSat Inc. He has over 25 years of experience in aerospace engineering, project management and business development. He has held executive management positions over a period of 15 years in both small and large Canadian aerospace companies.
Doug Hamilton, University of Calgary
Dr. Douglas Hamilton is Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Calgary. Dr. Hamilton, a former flight surgeon and engineer who worked at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has supported 49 space shuttle missions and 29 ISS missions.
Michelle Mendes, Canadian Space Commerce Association
Michelle Mendes is the Executive Director of the Canadian Space Commerce Association. Since 2009 she has worked on space outreach and education in her roles at the Canadian Space Commerce Association and the Space Education Foundation, as well as on behalf of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) for World Space Week Association and for the Google Lunar XPRIZE.
Gordon Osinski, Western University
Dr. Gordon Osinski is an associate professor at Western University and has a Ph.D. in geology. He is currently Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Planetary Geology and a co-investigator on an instrument that is on the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover for launch in 2020. He is also involved in the MoonRise mission concept that is currently being proposed to NASA’s New Frontiers competition.
Michael Pley, Pley Consulting Inc.
Michael Pley is President of Pley Consulting Inc. He retired as CEO of Cambridge-based COM DEV International in 2016 after a 30-year career. Mr. Pley currently supports technology SMEs and space companies through his management consulting company. He is an Executive Committee member of the Board of Directors of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada and currently chairs its Space Committee.
Afzal Sulemon, University of Victoria
Dr. Afzal Suleman is Canada Research Chair in Computational and Experimental Mechanics and a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Centre for Aerospace Research at the University of Victoria. He has been involved in the space field as a student and educator for 30 years.
Christine Tovee, Independent Consultant
Christine Tovee, an independent consultant, is the former chief technology officer of EADS NA (now Airbus Group North America), becoming the first woman appointed CTO within the EADS/Airbus Group. She has been instrumental in establishing research partnerships in the space sector.
