Class
of 1999 Biographies
Eric
Choi
Eric
was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Toronto, and currently
lives in Montréal. He holds a
master's degree from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
and
currently works as a flight
dynamics analyst on the RADARSAT mission at the Canadian Space Agency. Besides
his aerospace career, he is also a science fiction writer whose work has been
published in several magazines and anthologies. He was also a former editor
of the Canadian Space Gazette,
the publication of the Canadian Space Society. His other interests include
travel and international cinema.
Gordon
Coutts
Gordon
is currently working towards a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering at the
University of Waterloo. He works part-time for COM DEV, specializing in
superconductor technologies with potential applications in the field of
satellite communications. He completed a co-op Bachelor of Applied Science in
Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. His co-op experience
includes work terms at COM DEV, Motorola, and Brock Telecom Ltd. He was awarded
a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Postgraduate Scholarship, and a Canada Scholarship as an undergraduate. Gordon
speaks English and French. His interests include canoeing, wilderness camping,
skiing, bicycling, and environmental concerns.
Alvin
Cunje
I
completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and Chemistry in 1995.
As
an undergraduate, I was elected to
the University Senate and served as President
of the York Chemistry Club. I
helped to organize a "Chemical Magic Show" which was a great success
because it was a lot
of fun and exposed people to
chemistry in a positive and friendly manner. I received the Murray G. Ross award
for outstanding academic achievement and contribution to undergraduate student
life and was
awarded the Faculty of Pure and
Applied Science Gold Medal for high academic
excellence (1995). As a graduate
student,
I received the Natural Science and
Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
award from 1995 to 1999, to
complete a
doctoral dissertation on
"Catalysis in the Gas Phase". I will complete my Ph.D. in the fall of
1999.
Thierry
Fontaine
Bonjour,
hi, hola! I'm from Quebec, Canada and I like very much to travel around the
world. I have visited Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico,
Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA. And now, Thailand is just
like outer space: a new frontier. I'm ready to explore it and enjoy very much
the summer session with all of you.
Angelina
Guzzo
I
was born in Montréal, Canada. I
have also lived in
Ottawa, Toronto and Boston. I
graduated
from McGill University in 1994
with my Ph.D. in microbiology and went to the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship for three years in protein
biochemistry. I am currently in my second year of medical school at McGill. My
research has been published in several journals and I have
presented at international science
conferences. In addition I have
taught several undergraduate courses. My
extracurricular interests include
martial
arts, hockey, hiking and
rollerblading.
Eric
Lanoix
Eric
just completed his masters degree in Mechanical Engineering at McGill University
in Montréal, Canada. His thesis
focused on the long term dynamics of tethered
spacecraft in LEO. His other areas
of interest include orbital mechanics and planetary exploration. Eric has also
worked
for two years at the Canadian
Space
Agency (CSA) within the Astronaut
Program and the Space Systems Division.
During his time at the CSA, Eric
worked on
the Space Vision System (SVS)
project and participated in the survey of the Zarya and Service Modules of the
ISS in Moscow. Eric's hobbies include jogging, dancing Argentine Tango, and
photography.
Morla
Milne
I
grew up in both rural and urban settings and have had the opportunity to live
and study in Tanzania, Germany, Sudan, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. I have a degree in
international relations that serves as an excellent background for my chosen
career in journalism. While I don't presume that my experiences qualify me for
anything other than my own life, they have made me flexible and adaptable,
useful assets no matter what I am doing. I have a warped sense of humor that
keeps me sane in high stress sitautions.
Ethel
Poiré
My
name is Ethel Poiré. I am a
physicist and I have completed a Masters degree in Engineering Physics and two
years as a Ph.D. candidate at École
Polytechnique de Montréal. During
my graduate studies, I have gained
experience in plasma processes and
techniques used in surface analysis and
characterization. I am working at
the Canadian Space Agency as a materials scientist. My interests are the effects
of
space environment on materials and
coatings, especially thermal
control systems. I am sort of addicted to space. I
like space related model kits and
collectibles. My favorite hobbies
are
reading, going to the movies,
flying, and sports. I enjoy aerobics, cycling
and playing squash and badminton.
I play
the piano and the trumpet. I speak
French and English. I am also learning Spanish,
Russian and German.
Nishi
Rawat
Nishi
is currently pursuing a Medical Degree at Queen's University.
She recently completed a
Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry at McGill University. Last summer, Nishi
worked as a
Research Assistant at the
Institute of Medicine and Space Physiology (MEDES) in Toulouse, France. She has
also worked
as a summer RA in the
Neurosciences
and Motor Control Lab at the JSC
and at the Biotechnology Research Institute in
Montréal. Nishi was a Hugh Brock Scholarship and Canada Science and Engineering
Scholarship recipient at McGill
University. She was also a member
of McGill University's Varsity Women's basketball team. As a McGill
student-athlete, she earned consecutive honors as a Royal Bank Academic
All-Canadian and Principal's Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll recipient.
Nishi is bilingual
and is a native of Ottawa,
Ontario. She also enjoys running, cycling and reading
science fiction.
Josée
Adamson (Robert)
Josée
was born in
Moonbeam, a very small town in
northern
Ontario. She attended Ecole
secondaire
Cité des Jeunes in Kapuskasing, Ontario.
Very adventurous and energetic, Josée
chose the challenging life of
joining the military and graduated from Royal Military College of Canada with a
Chemical and
Materials Engineering degree.
Shortly after graduation, she left the military and joined a small company where
she
worked on two projects from the
Canadian Space Agency that consisted of researching the potential of
piezoelectric
ceramics on smart structures for
space applications. Currently, she is studying the diffusion of liquid metals in
microgravity for
a Master's degree at Queen's
University. Josée also loves to
run, fly, and jump out of planes!
Aynharan
Sinnarajah
Presently,
I am enrolled in the second year of medical
school at the University of
Toronto. I have completed a three-year Bachelor of Science degree with a major
in Biological
Sciences and a minor in Economics
at the University of Toronto. Presently, I am the President of SEDS-Canada (1999)
and I regularly volunteer with the Heritage
Toronto. Past activities include
cancer research at the Ontario Cancer Institute, Princess Margaret Hospital
(summers of 1996-97), research with sea lampreys at the University of Toronto (1995),
and Guide at the International Mathematics Olympiad (1995). Achievements and
awards include Canada Scholarship (1994-97), University of
Toronto Scholar (1994-97),
Governor
General's Award (top high school
graduating student, 1994),
Canadian Gold
Medallist in the Descartes
Mathematics Contest (1994), National Finalist in the
Chemistry Olympiad (1994), and
Metro
Toronto Gold Medallist in the
Canada
Chess Challenge (1993). During my
leisure time I play squash, tennis, and
volleyball.
Bill
Stewart
My
name is Bill Stewart, and I am an electronics engineer working for the Canadian
Space Agency (CSA). In my work, I have had the good fortune of challenging and
interesting work and the opportunity to travel to many different countries such
as France and Russia. As part of my work, I have flown more than 2,700 parabolas
(more than 15 hours of microgravity time) on NASA's KC-135, DC-9, and Novespace
A-300 reduced-gravity aircraft. If I go more than a few months without my
microgravity fix I can become quite irritable. The amateur astronomer in me
enjoys gazing at the night sky on clear, starry nights. I enjoy practicing
various sports, my favorites being hockey, cycling, skiing, playing squash, and
canoeing. I enjoy playing my favorite songs on my guitar and electric piano.
Nick
Svensson
Born
in Sweden in 1965, I immigrated to Canada in 1974 with my family. Upon
completion of my secondary school education in 1984, I spent four months
traveling around the world by myself. I returned to Canada in the fall of 1984
to start my university education in applied physics. Whilst at university, I
participated in the co-operative education program. I spent my work terms at
five different companies working in various industries such as steel, gas,
nuclear energy, petrochemical, and automotive. In 1989, I graduated from
university and started to work for COM DEV Ltd. My career at COM DEV has been
very broad, and I have had an opportunity to experience many roles including but
not limited to design engineering, production management, product assurance, and
engineering management. I have since married a wonderful wife and have two
beautiful daughters. My interests include my family, flying, and recreational
sports of any kind.
Laurence
Vigeant-Langlois
Born
and raised in the beautiful Québec province, I discovered the art and
science of flying as a teenager. This led me to
pursue interests for both piloting
and engineering. After completing a Bachelor in mechanical engineering at McGill
University, I entered a master of
science
program in aeronautics and
astronautics
at MIT. On the operational side, I
teach
soaring, tow gliders and train for
becoming
a professional pilot. With
aspirations for
contributing to improving aviation
and aerospace safety issues, my analytical
and operational interests meet in
research
and development of systems at the
human-machine interface level. On
the
extra-curricular side, I enjoy
various
outdoor activities and have strong
interest in travel. I look forward to participating in
the multi-disciplinary and
international ISU program for both professional and personal
growth.