Bjarni Tryggvason was a superb astronaut – technically brilliant, operationally skilled – and a dear friend. His recent passing leaves a big hole in my heart.
Celebration of a Life Well Lived
STEM
A Month of Inspiration
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum has designated January as The Month of Inspiration. Here are a few of my thoughts about what motivated me to chose my career path, people who inspired me along the way, and how I find strength in trying times.
Experience with Emerging Technology
I did a fun interview with Experience magazine this week. The questions were thought-provoking. Besides asking me about my spaceflights, I was also asked about my thoughts on emerging technologies.
Remembering Apollo 11
In my opinion, the Apollo 11 moon landing was the highlight of the 20th century. It took everything that humanity had – a culmination of a decade of technology development – to pull together this capability to get us off the planet.
Skills for Success in the Digital Economy
I dropped in last week on an educational workshop being held at the Vancouver office of SAP Canada. 40 Grade 6 to 9 students and their teachers from local schools were engaged in a hands-on project called Living Space. As I moved about their workspace, I noted that the students and teachers were coding tiny […]
Science literacy in our country matters
I was in Hamilton, Ontario today to help my colleague Dr. Bonnie Schmidt with an important funding announcement for her organization Let’s Talk Science. Bonnie and I are kindred spirits in that we both advocate for enhanced STEM skills in Canada. Let’s Talk Science is a national organization that engages youth in science, technology, engineering and […]
The Pursuit of Excellence
This week I attended the gala for the 2012 Canada Gairdner Awards held at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. In the shadows of towering dinosaur skeletons and in front of an audience of the who’s who of health research, six international and one Canadian researcher were presented with their awards.
The stuff of dreams
I had the privilege this morning to meet Canada’s outstanding elementary and secondary school teachers. 27 of our nation’s best educators were in Ottawa as recipients of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Their visit coincided with World Teachers’ Day which is held annually on October 5th.