The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) is proud to present: WISA Talks, a webinar series where we bring together panels of academic, industry, and government leaders to dive deep into challenges facing aeronautics. By facilitating direct partnerships with industry, government, and academia WISA mobilizes the research and innovation capacity of all six faculties at the University of Waterloo to drive meaningful and lasting impact.
WISA Talks: Future Directions in Aeronautical Sustainability, will discuss the significant challenges and opportunities facing the future social, environmental, and economic sustainability of the air transport sector. We will hear from each panelist on what they think is the most pressing issue facing the air transport sector from their perspective and an area of research activity which they believe could be most promising to address that challenge.
Join us on Wednesday, April 6th from 10:00AM - 11:30AM ET to learn more! If you can't make it, make sure to catch the replay on our YouTube channel.
John Craig
Director of Training, Air Canada
Captain John Craig is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and the Aviation program at Seneca College and is currently the Director of Training for Air Canada, responsible for all pilot training programs. He currently flies the Boeing 777 and has over 30 years of experience in flight training in various roles from ab-initio to turboprop and large jet transport aircraft.
Kathy Fox
Chair, Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Kathy Fox began her aviation career in 1974, as an air traffic controller with Transport Canada. She has also worked as a commercial pilot and flight instructor. In 1996, she moved to NAV CANADA, where she worked until 2007, retiring as Vice-President, Operations. That year, she was appointed Member of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). She was appointed TSB Chair in 2014 and reappointed in 2018.
Maarten Steinbuch
Distinguished University Professor, Eindhoven University of Technology
Dr. Maarten Steinbuch is a high-tech systems scientist, entrepreneur and communicator. The research of his group spans from green powertrains for vehicles and airplanes to mechatronics, robotics, motion control, and fusion plasma control. He is co-founder of a company for charging and energy management at airports for battery electric flying.
Jeremy Wang
Jeremy Wang is co-founder and COO of Ribbit, a venture-backed startup creating the world's first airline to use fully autonomous aircraft. Prior Ribbit, Jeremy was CTO of one of Canada's top drone operators and named as one of AIAA's 20 Twenties in 2018.
Kamal Ben
Research Coordinator, WISA
Dr. Kamal Ben has an extensive international industry experience and worked in flight efficiency research. Currently he is supporting WISA mission in defining key solutions that can bring together industry, academia and research to meet aeronautics challenges to achieve a sustainable future. He believes that WISA can bring a significant impact in involving industry, government and academia together to promote applied research towards major aeronautical challenges
Claudio Canizares
Dr. Claudio Cañizares is a University Professor, the Hydro One Chair, and the WISE Executive Director at the University of Waterloo, where he has been since 1993. His highly-cited research focuses on modeling, simulation, computation, stability, control, and optimization of power and energy systems.
Oliver Schneider
Assistant Professor, Management Sciences, Faculty of Engineering
Oliver Schneider is an Assistant Professor, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher, and haptician. His work focuses on enabling anyone, anywhere to be able to create experiences for haptic technology, whether for simulation, learning, storytelling, medical application, or automotive vehicles. Oliver publishes in venues including ACM CHI and UIST; IEEE Haptics Symposium, EuroHaptics, and World Haptics; and the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS).
Daniel Scott
Professor, Geography and Environmental Management
University research chair in Global Change and Tourism, Dr. Daniel Scott is a professor in and the director of the Master of Climate Change program. Scott has worked extensively in the area of climate change and the global tourism sector, including the transition to a low carbon tourism economy and adaptation to the complex impacts of a changing climate, having published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles on these topics.
Suzanne Kearns (Moderator)
Dr. Suzanne Kearns is a professor in Waterloo’s aviation program and director of the newly launched Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA). Kearns’s vision is to create a sustainable future in aerospace and aviation.