MAPLE LEAF CHAPTER: Report form the 2nd Annual Gala
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Association of Old Crows, Maple Leaf Chapter
2nd Annual Gala | 28 September, 2017 | Ottawa, Ontario
Building on the success of the first annual gala hosted by the Canadian AOC Maple Leaf Chapter in 2016, this year had an incredible turnout of close to 80 guests at the prestigious Royal Ottawa Golf Club. Many major defence prime contractors and sub-contractors such as D-TA Systems, Lockheed Martin Canada, Thales Canada, MDA Systems, ThinkRF etc. made significant contributions to help elevate the event.
The evening was highly successful with an exceptional lineup of distinguished speakers from both the US, and across Canada. Thanks to our dynamite Master of Ceremonies, Maj Stewart Askew from the Canadian Armed Forces, the evening kick-started with a big bang as he opened the stage to welcome Lisa Frugé-Cirilli, President of the AOC Global, who expressed her solid views about the future blueprint of the association and the importance of collaboration, mentorship and growth. Sharing her personal story about how she entered the EW world with the help of mentorship resonated with many fellow crows. The second speaker was our very own Canadian chapter patron, Brigadier General (BGen) Steven Moritsugu, Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM), Department of National Defence. As the Director General for Military SIGINT, a function which provides the EW community with the intelligence support that enables EW capability development and employment, BGen Moritsugu gave a thought provoking speech on what it is that matters most to the Canadian EW community and the problems we are trying to solve as a team. This was followed by a series of actionable items to increase Government-Industry-Academic cooperation.
Followed by a full course dinner, a presentation was given by Eric Fournier, Director General S&T Strategic Decision Support, Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS). The availability of $1.6 billion in funding towards S&T initiatives generated significant interest within the crowd. This new program is open for Canadian and international stakeholders who are jointly trying to solve Canada’s future defense challenges by bringing in the best technology. Finally, our last speaker was Professor Jim Wight, who has over forty years’ experience in the fields of radio systems, and technologies. Dr. Wight has graduated 28 Ph.D. students and 87 MASc students (with thesis). He is the inventor of 32 issued United States, Canadian, and European Patents. He is the author and co-author of 49 refereed journal papers, and 163 refereed conference papers. Given his incredible background, he explained an Ottawa based success story of a University-Industry collaboration where, a lab, called the Dipak & Tara Roy Advanced Sensor Processing Laboratory was setup by this year’s AOC Tech Hall of Fame Canadian recipient (Dr. Dipak Roy) to address the increasing skills gap within the EW community.
In summary, the gala was a hit! The Maple Leaf Chapter team cannot wait to host this incredible event again next year. We are here to act as ambassadors of the AOC and carry the Crows name proudly on our shoulders. Stay tuned!
By: Tuhin Das
President
Association of Old Crows, Maple Leaf Chapter
www.canadiancrows.ca
2nd Annual Gala | 28 September, 2017 | Ottawa, Ontario
Building on the success of the first annual gala hosted by the Canadian AOC Maple Leaf Chapter in 2016, this year had an incredible turnout of close to 80 guests at the prestigious Royal Ottawa Golf Club. Many major defence prime contractors and sub-contractors such as D-TA Systems, Lockheed Martin Canada, Thales Canada, MDA Systems, ThinkRF etc. made significant contributions to help elevate the event. The evening was highly successful with an exceptional lineup of distinguished speakers from both the US, and across Canada. Thanks to our dynamite Master of Ceremonies, Maj Stewart Askew from the Canadian Armed Forces, the evening kick-started with a big bang as he opened the stage to welcome Lisa Frugé-Cirilli, President of the AOC Global, who expressed her solid views about the future blueprint of the association and the importance of collaboration, mentorship and growth. Sharing her personal story about how she entered the EW world with the help of mentorship resonated with many fellow crows. The second speaker was our very own Canadian chapter patron, Brigadier General (BGen) Steven Moritsugu, Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM), Department of National Defence. As the Director General for Military SIGINT, a function which provides the EW community with the intelligence support that enables EW capability development and employment, BGen Moritsugu gave a thought provoking speech on what it is that matters most to the Canadian EW community and the problems we are trying to solve as a team. This was followed by a series of actionable items to increase Government-Industry-Academic cooperation.
Followed by a full course dinner, a presentation was given by Eric Fournier, Director General S&T Strategic Decision Support, Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS). The availability of $1.6 billion in funding towards S&T initiatives generated significant interest within the crowd. This new program is open for Canadian and international stakeholders who are jointly trying to solve Canada’s future defense challenges by bringing in the best technology. Finally, our last speaker was Professor Jim Wight, who has over forty years’ experience in the fields of radio systems, and technologies. Dr. Wight has graduated 28 Ph.D. students and 87 MASc students (with thesis). He is the inventor of 32 issued United States, Canadian, and European Patents. He is the author and co-author of 49 refereed journal papers, and 163 refereed conference papers. Given his incredible background, he explained an Ottawa based success story of a University-Industry collaboration where, a lab, called the Dipak & Tara Roy Advanced Sensor Processing Laboratory was setup by this year’s AOC Tech Hall of Fame Canadian recipient (Dr. Dipak Roy) to address the increasing skills gap within the EW community.
In summary, the gala was a hit! The Maple Leaf Chapter team cannot wait to host this incredible event again next year. We are here to act as ambassadors of the AOC and carry the Crows name proudly on our shoulders. Stay tuned!
By: Tuhin Das
President
Association of Old Crows, Maple Leaf Chapter
www.canadiancrows.ca
