2023 Winner: Aerospace Innovation
Winner: Dr. Yang Gao, University of Calgary
Presenter: Roger Haessel, Advisor – RPAS Strategy, APEX Alberta (Regional Innovation Network of Medicine Hat)
Initiative: Innovation Brings High-Precision Satellite Navigation to People and Applications
Finalist: Researcher of the Year
Prior to joining the University of Calgary in 1998, Dr. Yang Gao’s career comprised of work in government and industry sectors, including Natural Resources Canada, where he was an NSERC post-doc fellow and Pulsearch Navigation Systems Inc/Position Inc., where he held positions of Research Scientist, Manager of GPS R&D and Manager of Asia-Pacific.
Dr. Gao’s geomatics research focuses on precise satellite-based positioning, navigation, and timing with applications to aviation, marine, farming, construction, mining, weather forecasting, earthquake monitoring, and surveying. His latest work makes high precision possible at a low cost to mass-market products, including self-driving cars, drones and smartphones. Dr. Gao founded two successful startup companies, serving as CEO for one until its acquisition and CTO presently for the other, which has led the development of advanced precise navigation technologies and products.
