Sustainable Aeronautics Summit Program of Events 2022

8:00AM - Registration & Continental Breakfast Social, Exhibits Open

Doors open at 8am. Parking is available on site. The event kicks off at 8am. Grab some delicious Lost Aviator coffee and breakfast in the lounge and explore the exhibitors in the main room.


8:15 - 8:45AM - Three Minute Thesis Presentations 

Watch and cheer on our talented graduate students who will be presenting their Three Minute Thesis (3MT). In only three minutes with a single static slide they will pitch their exciting research topics, and their vision for how it will impact the future of aeronautics, with the top presentation recognized with a prize.


9:00 - 9:30AM - Introductions & Opening Remarks

Our main program kicks off with introductions from WISA Director Suzanne Kearns and the University of Waterloo President Vivek Goel. The introduction will set the stage for the events of the day.


9:30AM - 10:00AM - Opening Keynote from Commander Chris Hadfield

Commander Chris Hadfield will deliver the featured keynote address of the Summit. You won't want to miss this informative and inspirational talk which will explore how aviation and aeronautics can be a force for good, but must pursue a sustainable future.

Commander Hadfield is a heavily decorated astronaut, engineer, and pilot. He is an internationally bestselling author, musician, and speaker whose presentations have been viewed millions of times over. In addition to his far-reaching accomplishments, Commander Hadfield is an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo and was pivotal in structuring and launching the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA).


10:00 - 10:30AM - Break

Lost Aviator coffee and snacks are available in the lounge. Explore exhibitors within the lounge, main room, and static display.


10:30 - 11:30AM - Social Sustainability Panel

The Social Sustainability panel will include a discussion on how the air transport sector can achieve a sustainable workforce. Themes in the discussion will include attracting future talent (including supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion), optimizing education and the use of innovative training technologies, and retaining a safe and competent workforce.

This panel will feature the following speakers:

Commander Chris Hadfield  
Sunjoo Advani President, International Development of Technology
John Craig Director of Training, Air Canada
Mikhail Klassen CTO & Co-Founder, Paladin AI
Jessalyn Teed First Officer, Sunwing Airlines
Suzanne Kearns (moderator) Founding Director, WISA

11:30AM - 12:00PM - Sustainability Innovations

Interested in a glimpse into the future? Join our exciting Sustainability Innovations sessions to hear from thought leaders in key disciplines about what a sustainable future looks like within air transportation. All distinguished professors, five presentations of five minutes each will explore new innovations and practices.

This session is brought to you in partnership with the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, and will include the following presentations: 

Lisa Aultman-Hall

Estimating aviation vs passenger vehicle greenhouse gas emissions for surveyed intercity trips

Michael Barnett-Cowan Measuring and managing sensory conflict in real and virtual flight environments
Vassili Karanassios

From large-size plasmas to microplasmas: from ion propulsion for space exploration to measurement of gas-exhaust of jet engines using microplasmas

Ewa Niechwiej-Szwedo

Application of eye tracking to pilot training

Paul Parker

Sustainable Innovations:  Electric Aviation Opportunities and Challenges: Stakeholder Perceptions of E-plane Knowledge, Motivations and Barriers

Interested in learning more? The five speakers will be in the Louge space, following this session, for 1:1 discussions in the WISA Cafe.


12:00 - 1:30PM - Lunch

Lunch will be available outside on the ramp from four loal food trucks: Ish & Chips, FoCheezy, Los Rolling Tacos, and more. Lunch is provided at no additional cost. Enjoy open networking, explore exhibits and static displays.

WISA Cafe: Following the Sustainability Innovations session, join the professors in the Lounge for the WISA Cafe. Within the WISA Cafe you are welcome to grab a coffee and have a casual chat to discuss future innovations presented in the previous session.


1:30 - 2:30PM - Environmental Sustainability Panel

The Environmental Sustainability panel will feature a discussion on policies, approaches, and technologies to reduce the negative environmental impacts of air transportation. Initiatives include sustainable aviation fuels, offsets, route optimization, and electric/hydrogen aircraft.

This panel will feature the following speakers: 

Wendy Bailey Chief of Environmental Protection and Standards,Transport Canada
Scott Brownrigg Director, Public Affairs, Connect Airlines
Kevin Bruce Director of Quality and Airworthiness, Diamond Aircraft
Kathleen Henderson Senior Director, Operations, Environment & Regulatory Affairs, Canadian Airports Council
Geoff Tauvette Executive Director, Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Bruce Frayne (moderator) Dean, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo

2:30 - 3:00PM - Sustainability Innovations

Interested in a glimpse into the future? Join our exciting Sustainability Innovations sessions to hear from thought leaders in key disciplines about what a sustainable future looks like within air transportation. All distinguished professors, five presentations of five minutes each will explore new innovations and practices.

This session will include the following presentations: 

John Montesano Developing Efficient Lightweight Airframes Using Integrated Computational Models 
Derek Robinson

Remotely piloted aircraft: facilitating sustainable decision-making

Armaghan Salehian

Economic Sustainability-Optimization of aviation equipment, crew, and airspace capacity

Mihaela Vlasea

Additive manufacturing: a key enabler of sustainable aerospace manufacturing

XiaoYu Wu

Electrified ammonia production for a clean hydrogen carrier and fuel

Interested in learning more? The speakers will be in the Louge space, following this session, for 1:1 discussions in the WISA Cafe.


3:00 - 3:45PM - Break

Lost Aviator coffee and snacks are available in the lounge. Explore exhibitors within the lounge, main room, and static display.

WISA Cafe: Following the Sustainability Innovations session, join the professors in the Lounge for the WISA Cafe. Within the WISA Cafe you are welcome to grab a coffee and have a casual chat to discuss future innovations presented in the previous session.


3:45 - 4:40PM - Economic Sustainability Panel

The Summit's final panel will feature a discussion, from leaders in the field, to set the direction for future initiatives. Thought leaders and CEOs will share the opportunities and challenges they see on the horizon that will impact future sustainability initiatives.

This panel will feature the following speakers:

Nancy Barber President, Women In Aerospace - Canada
Michael Benner Director R&D, Aerodynamic, Aerospace Research Centre, NRC Canada
Fabrice Hamel CEO, NAVBLUE an Airbus Company
Joost List CEO, North Aircraft Industries
Gabriel Massey President & Managing Director, Pipistrel Aircraft
Charmaine Dean (moderator) VP Research & International, University of Waterloo

4:40 - 4:50PM - Closing Remarks

The final closing remarks conclude the presentation portion of the event.


5:00 - 5:30PM Exhibits remain open

Exhibits and static display remain open until 5:30pm.


5:30PM - Event Concludes