Jeremy C.-H. Wang, PhD

Dr. Jeremy Wang is a Canadian aerospace engineer and entrepreneur with 10 years of experience in uncrewed and autonomous systems. Jeremy currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Ribbit, which he co-founded in 2020. Ribbit builds and operates dual-use self-flying airplanes to improve access to transportation, especially in rural, remote, and coastal regions. Ribbit is a contractor of record to multiple public safety, defence, research, and transportation agencies, and has additionally partnered with several wholesalers, Indigenous communities, and humanitarian groups who spend $73M annually on air freight. In 2023, Ribbit performed Canada’s first automated gate-to-gate flight—now a routine occurrence at select airports.

Besides Ribbit, Jeremy supports the broader community through extensive service to universities (e.g. Toronto, Waterloo), colleges (e.g. Centennial, George Brown), associations (e.g. AIAA, CASI, RTCA), government (e.g. Transport Canada, Royal Canadian Air Force, NATO), and events (e.g. NASA Space Apps). He also holds appointments as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo and Royal Military College of Canada, and as an Associate Editor of Drone Systems and Applications. Although his professional commitments come first, he believes in supporting people and nudging systems to drive change. Jeremy is a sought-after speaker and subject-matter expert on technology, startups, policy, and leadership in aerospace and defence.

Before Ribbit, Jeremy held progressive technical and leadership roles in diverse settings such as aircraft collision avoidance research at York University, liquid rocket engine development at DLR, on-orbit servicing research at the Space Generation Advisory Council, leadership coaching at University of Toronto Engineering, and drone, hybrid rocket, and CubeSat development at UTAT. Jeremy most recently served as Chief Technology Officer at The Sky Guys, where he founded a technology division developing dual-use NATO Class I drones and airborne payloads. While there, he built and flew Canada’s first drone to use a 5G link and helped scale operations across North America.

In total, Jeremy’s ability to integrate strategy and execution has yielded many firsts in aviation, over $100M in B2B/B2G revenue and backlog, and some 70% of eligible product development costs subsidized via grants and tax credits. His work has garnered various accolades, including recognition among Canada’s Next 36 promising entrepreneurs and Aviation Week Network & AIAA’s 20 Twenties list of aerospace leaders.

Jeremy holds a BASc in Engineering Science (Toronto) and a PhD in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering (Waterloo). Besides work, he plays piano, reads WWII history, and enjoys trying new food and learning new languages with his wife. Jeremy believes that anyone can lead, everyone must lead no matter their title, and the best leaders lead by example, expertise, and empathy.

Last Update: 2025-08-04

• autonomous aircraft development and testing

• human-autonomy teaming

• system-of-systems optimization

• computational fluid dynamics

• physics-informed neural networks

• aircraft and spacecraft concept design

• role of airlines in remote and Indigenous health

• defence policy

• Canadian and NATO air force doctrine

• 2025, Student Pilot Permit – Aeroplane, Transport Canada

• 2022, Ph. D., Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada

• 2021, Radio Operator Certificate – Amateur Advanced VA3WNG, Industry Canada

• 2021, Radio Operator Certificate & Accredited Examiner – Aeronautical, Industry Canada

• 2019, RPAS Pilot – Basic Operations, Transport Canada

• 2018, B. A. Sc., Engineering Science, University of Toronto, Canada

• 2025, Aviation Week Network: Nominee (Ribbit Autonomy Demonstrator), Program Excellence Award

• 2024, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics: Challenge Coin for Outstanding Service

• 2023, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute: Nominee for the Trans-Canada McKee Trophy

• 2023, University of Toronto: Arbor Award (highest honour for exceptional service to the University)

• 2023, Mitacs: Outstanding Change Agent Entrepreneur

• 2020, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers: Nominee for President’s Young Professional Award

• 2020, Velocity Incubator: Winner, Velocity Fund Pitch Competition

• 2020, University of Waterloo: Winner, Graduate Student Startup Fund

• 2019, University of Waterloo: Winner, Concept Pitch Competition

• 2019, Frost & Sullivan: Top 22 Innovative Drone Service Providers (World)

• 2019, University of Waterloo: Winner, Problem Pitch Competition

• 2018, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute: Top Graduating Student of the University of Toronto

• 2018, University of Toronto: Gordon Cressy Leadership Award (outstanding extra-curricular contributions)

• 2018, Drone Industry Insights: Top 20 UAV Operators (World), 1st for Inspections and Mapping (Canada)

• 2018, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics & Aviation Week Network: 20 Twenties

• 2017, Ernest C. Manning Awards for Innovation: Finalist, Greater Toronto Area

• 2016, Experimental Sounding Rocket Association: 1st (Canada), 3rd (World), Advanced Category of IREC

• 2016, Canadian Satellite Design Challenge: 3rd Place Critical Design Review, 4th Place Overall

• 2016, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International: 2nd (Canada), 10th (World), UAS Competition

• 2016, Unmanned Systems Canada: 1st Place, sUAS Competition Phase 1

• 2016, NEXT Canada: The Next 36 (one of Canada’s top 36 highest potential young entrepreneurs)

• 2015, University of Toronto: Best Presentation in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UnERD Conference

• 2015, Experimental Sounding Rocket Association: 1st Place in Design & Analysis (World), Advanced Category of IREC

• 2015, University of Toronto: Outstanding Initiative or Vision for a Campus Organization

• 2015, Ryerson University Engineering Society: Best Professional Event (TSAA Conference 2014)

• 2014, Space Generation Advisory Council: Member of the Month

• 2014, Experimental Sounding Rocket Association: R. G. Moore Award for Innovation (regeneratively cooled nozzle)

• 2013, The Operations Research Challenge: 1st Place

• 2013, Poetry Institute of Canada: Best Poem, Young Writers Category

• 2013, World Education Games: 3rd Place in Mental Arithmetics (Canada)

• Aerial Evolution Association of Canada (AEAC), formerly USC

• American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

• Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI)

• Centennial College

• FairVentures

• International Astronautical Federation (IAF)

• Journal of Drone Systems and Applications (DSA)

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

• Nutrition North Canada (NNC)

• Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

• Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE)

• Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA)

• Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA)

• Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)

• Students for Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) Canada

• Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC)

• Transport Canada Civil Aviation

• Transport Canada RPAS Task Force

• University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT)

• University of Toronto Engineering Science

• University of Toronto Engineering Society

• University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Hatchery

• University of Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA)

• University of Waterloo Velocity Incubator

• University of Waterloo WATonomous

• Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group

• Reviewer for Physics of Fluids, Journal of Supercritical Fluids, APL Machine Learning, AIP Advances, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, BMJ Open, Research in Transportation and Business Management, and other journals in aerospace engineering, transportation, fluid mechanics, health systems, and ML

• Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries: Member, 2025-Now

• Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute: Member, 2016-Now

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Senior Member, 2014-Now

• American Physical Society: Member, 2020-2022

• Ontario Society of Professional Engineers: Associate Member, 2019-2021

• Jeremy Wang, Misc Publications, Google Scholar

• N. Yang, R. Williams, S. Wu, and J. C.-H. Wang (2015): Method and Device for Wringing a Mop, CA2877767A (Canada); US14/681,157 (USA)

• Defending Canada Without the United States, CTV News
• Industry Experts Chart the Future of AI and Autonomy in Military Aviation
• Aviation Autonomy Experts Discuss What it Will Take to Ensure Safer Skies
• Two pilots, one pilot, no pilot: Ribbit's plan to bring pilotless cargo flights to Northern Canada