This week we celebrate 20 years of continuous human presence in space. Since November 2000, the International Space Station has been home to astronauts from around the world — by 239 people from 19 different countries, including Canada. The Station program had a slow start in the 1990s – there were many technical, political and […]
On December 3, David Saint-Jacques will launch with two crewmates from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station. David will spend six months aboard the Station as part of the ‘C3’ expedition, Canada’s third long-duration mission. Preparation for an ISS expedition is a significant undertaking requiring the […]
Gathie Falk is a beloved and unconventional artist from Vancouver. She has a reputation in the art world for skillfully using a wide variety of media to venerate the ordinary. ‘Venerating the ordinary’ means that she incorporates commonplace objects into her artworks and invites us to reconsider the role of these objects in our lives. […]
A second edition of the book ‘The Farthest Shore: A 21st Century Guide to Space’ has just been published by Apogee Books (a Canadian publisher). http://www.cgpublishing.com/ The original book was a paperback that served as a textbook for the students of International Space University. It covered all aspects of space exploration and development. The new […]
I noticed a tweet this morning from my space colleague Natalie Panek stating that the federal government’s Standing Committee on Finance had launched its pre-budget consultations and deliberations in advance of the 2019 federal budget. Natalie encouraged us to make our voices heard by sharing our priorities with the Committee. I was eager to help. […]
Last month I was in Vancouver to attend the e-Health 2018 Conference. This annual conference and tradeshow brought together 1,250 digital health professionals from diverse backgrounds and across Canada. It was a good opportunity to network, share ideas and learn from each other. I participated in a plenary session at the conference. Sonny Kholi (physician […]
My four-year term as Chancellor of the University of Calgary is coming to an end. It has been an enjoyable ride. Many people think of the chancellor solely as the official who attends formal university events and participates in convocation. The chancellors of Alberta’s three largest universities have responsibilities that go beyond simply presiding over […]
Congratulations to Maliyat and TJ for determining that I was in Cork, Ireland earlier this month to participate in International Space University (ISU)’s Space Studies Program (SSP). I’ll put signed photos in the mail for both of you. My visit to Cork was brief but I did have the opportunity to deliver a lecture, adjudicate […]
I participated last week in the graduation ceremony for the 2017 class of Robert Thirsk High School. In the evening, I attended the class’s grad banquet. It was the third graduation for the school which has now been open for four years. As a member of the ceremony’s platform party, I congratulated all 450 graduands […]
Todd Hirsch and Rob Roach of ATB Financial are co-authors of a new book entitled Spiders in Space: Successfully Adapting to Unwanted Change. What an intriguing title! The book profiles several Canadian individuals, organizations and businesses who have successfully adapted to change. Drawing on inspiring stories and lessons learned, the book provides insight on how […]