The 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the IEEE Winnipeg Section will be held on Tuesday January 16 from 6-9 pm at the Best Western Plus Winnipeg Airport Hotel. The meeting is open to all IEEE members and a buffet dinner will be provided for all attendees. Highlights from events held in 2017 will be shared along with an introduction of the nominees for the 2018 Executive Committee. Attached below are the minutes from last year’s AGM and the agenda for this year’s AGM.
The keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Philip Ferguson, the NSERC / Magellan Aerospace Industrial Research Chair in Satellite Engineering at the University of Manitoba.
Keynote Abstract: Technology advances and grows all around us. From drones to deep learning, additive manufacturing to adaptive control, universities and journals are brimming with innovation and invention. Some industries such as the mobile communications and entertainment industries are quick to adopt new electronic and manufacturing technologies. Other industries, such as the aviation and agricultural industries are a little slower adopters of technology, while the space industry adopts new technologies on a near glacial timescale in comparison. Perceived risk and deployment cost usually play roles in the rate of technology adoption, but those are not the only factors. How can we target our research towards effective and responsible adoption within industry? Dr. Philip Ferguson’s keynote address will explore this topic as he reviews how certain key technologies either made their way into industry or not and how those lessons learned could help direct our research programs in the future.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Philip Ferguson received his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Toronto in Engineering Science. He holds a Masters and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aerospace Engineering, under the supervision of renowned space engineering and policy professor, Dr. Dava Newman (who served as the Deputy Administrator of NASA under the Obama administration). Dr. Ferguson’s doctoral research focused on astronaut brain modeling to predict control adaption in microgravity. Following graduate school, he developed attitude control systems for small space telescopes at Microsat Systems Canada Inc., eventually becoming the Engineering Manager for all altitude control systems products. Dr. Ferguson then took a position at Magellan Aerospace, Winnipeg, where he grew into the position of Engineering Manager for the electrical and software engineering teams in support of Magellan’s Space and Defense contracts. At Magellan, he was also the University research programs’ Principal Investigator and the spacecraft power subsystem lead for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission satellites. From 2014 until 2017, Dr. Ferguson was the Vice President of Product Development at PrecisionHawk Inc., where was responsible for all aircraft and payload systems engineering as well as production. He was also active in many of the industrial research programs PrecisionHawk conducted to improve the state of the art in UAV systems, remote sensing and airspace safety. Presently, Dr. Ferguson holds the NSERC / Magellan Aerospace Industrial Research Chair in Satellite Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Ferguson’s research focuses on new spacecraft manufacturing and control technologies that can improve satellite reliability while simultaneously reducing the cost and design cycle times, thereby improving the accessibility of space. Dr. Ferguson lives on a small hobby farm in Vivian, Manitoba with his wife and two daughters.
