Past Speakers

Some of our previous speakers...

Ted Hsu, Executive Director of SWITCH presented

"Cap and Trade for greenhouise gases"

At the January 2010 Luncheon speaker series.

In this presentation Dr. Hsu used audience involvement to demonstrate just what Cap and Trade is, the role it plays in controlling greenhouse gases and how it works. There was discussion of the pros and cons associated with Cap and Trade and what needs to be done to put a working system in place.

Ziad Rizk of Bombardier Transportation presented at the November 2009 luncheon.

"Sustainable Transportation Solutions from Bombardier Transportation"

Mr. Rizk gave a fascinating overview of the products from Bombardier, a highly successful Canadian multinational company that is the world leader in rail transportation equipment and solutions (it also makes airplanes). Focussing specifically on the products engineered and tested at Bombardier Transportation's Kingston facility, Mr. Rizk described a thriving hotbed of design and innovation producing such products as linear induction motors, driverless transit systems, state-of-the-art monorails, and wireless power systems.

Mike Sewell & Ron Ruttan of the Limestone District School Board

Presented at the October 2009 Luncheon

"Experiential Learning for a High-Skills Workforce of the Future"

Mike and Ron gave a desciption of the programs being offered and developed by the LDSB to motivate, educate and prepare students for the workforce of the future.

Dr. Philip Jessop, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, Prensented at the September Luncheon

"Oil & Water, They Finally Mix! ...and unmix, then mix again!"

Dr. Jessop captivated the audience with his presentation on a method and process for using CO2 to chage the nature and behaviour of chemical compounds used in industrial manufacuring. Techniques that hold the promise of reduced environmental impact and costs of manufacturing.

June Mix & Mingle, June 17 2009 at the Harbour

"Network by the Lake"

The June Mix & Mingle was a great success with well over 100 members of the local technology community attending. Many organizations and individuals were able to make connections with new and past associates. Connections that resulted in new business, new collaborations and new jobs. The event was networking at it's best with different orgainzations in the Kingston region coming together to make the event possilbe: KTC, ELORIN, SWITCH, Innovation Park, PARTEQ and KEDCO.

Watch for Information on the next Mix & Mingle in December, 2009. If you missed the last one you won't want to miss this one.

Dr. John Rudan, orthopaedic surgeon, presented at the May 2009 Luncheon.

"Technology in Orthopaedic Surgery"

Imaging of the human anatomy, material science for implants, development of instruments and integration of computers - technology has had a profound impact on orthopaedic surgery. Come hear Dr. Rudan talk about the history of technology in orthopaedic surgery, current state-of-the-art and where technology will take us going forward.

On April 17, 2009 the winners of the

Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Science Fair

presented their winning entriies.

Energy from garbage, curing cancer, desalinating water with the sun and capturing wind power while driving your car. These were the topics that the luncheon attendees had presented to them by the bright minds of our future. There was an opportunity for all to circulate before and after the lunch to get a closer look at the projects and speak with the students about their work and what motivated them. Best of luck to all of them in May at the Canada-wide Science Fair being held in Winnipeg!

The Kingston Technology Council proudly presented

George Scott - Founder and CEO of Scott Environmental Group

at their January 16, 2009 Speaker Series Luncheon

Mr. Scott presented:

"Noterra Organics - Applying Innovative Eco-Technology to Organic Waste Management"

George Scott is the founder and CEO of Scott Environmental Group, a Kingston-based company providing a range of industrial and environmental services. Scott Environmental Group has recently opened their new Norterra Organics composting facility in Joyceville to process "green" or organic waste, including fruits, vegetables, and food scaps such as meat and bones using advanced environmental technology, leaving no carbon footprint, and producing a variety of products such as natural fertilizer.

On May 11th 2007, Stephen Hunt, Ph.D, President & CEO of

QUBIT SYSTEMS , was the the guest speaker at the

Kingston Technology Council's Speaker Series Luncheon.

Steve's presentation, "From the teaching lab, to the salad table"

took us through the start-up and direction of this local enterprise.

QUBIT- a PARTEQ start-up company, currently has over 220

different products serving researchers, teachers & industry.

The Kingston Technology Council proudly presented

Dean Bellefleur - Founder & Creative Director

of D-Idea, at their April 20th speaker series luncheon.

Dean's high energy, interesting and informative presentation...

"Scandinavia has it, Kingston wants it!"

Innovation - creating business value by developing ideas,

left many attendees wondering how they could incorporate Dean's

international lesson's into their local business lives.

As we learned, most companies find it tremendously difficult to manage spontaneous

creativity in a business environment. During his presentation

Dean looked at the front end of innovation; exploring operating systems

for innovation and benchmarking the Swedish innovative culture.

If you did not attend the March 23rd, 2007 luncheon you really missed out!

The Kingston Technology Council proudly presented Alan Hesketh,

Calvin Park Public School teacher, and his Champion LEGO Robotics

Team - The Bananos!

Alan Hesketh is a dedicated teacher in the Challenge Focus Program

at Calvin Park Public School. For his innovative work in integrating the

LEGO Robotics Program into the grade 7 and 8 curriculum in the Limestone

School Board, Alan received the Honourable Mention in the Dick Hopkins Innovation

in Education category at this year's KTC Awards Gala.

Alan and The Bananos explained and demonstrated the LEGO program

and how they prepare for regional and provincial competitions.

Mr. Hesketh also discussed the importance of introducing robotics at the

elementary level. As he explained, it helps establish an interest in technology

in students as they make choices for their secondary and post-secondary education.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present Henry Copestake, General Manager of MetalCraft Marine, who spoke on MetalCraft's ongoing success since winning the Commercial Achievement Award at the 2005 Kingston Technology Council Awards of Excellence at our January19, 2007 luncheon event. The Kingston Technology Council was proud to presentDavid E. Yake, Director of Research, Engineering andBusiness Development, DuPont Canada, who spoke on"DuPont and its transformation from gunpowder to'The Miracles of Science'" at our November 17, 2006luncheon event.

Mr. Yake gave us a unique perspective on the DuPont
Company and its 204 year history of innovation and
transformation from an explosives company to a diversified
science company that is driving development of sustainable
offerings based upon bio-technology and renewable resources.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present
Dr. Roel Vertegaal of the Queen's Human Media Lab, who
spoke on "Technology that Doesn't Bug You When You're
Busy: From Attention to Design of the Socially Networked
Appliance" at our October 20, 2006 luncheon event.

While we now own more computing devices than ever before - laptops,
cellphones, PDAs - they have not become easier to use. We are faced with
smaller and yet ever more demanding user interfaces, as our cellphones
allow us to perform tasks that once required a desktop computer. How can
we design devices that work in harmony with the user and with each
other? How can we reduce complexity by combining the functionality of
many individual devices?

The Queen's Human Media Lab focuses on designing computing interfaces
so that they share common resources and users by embedding them in the
user's social networks. "Attentive User Interfaces" are able to observe user
attention and determine the user's task focus and preferred channels and
moments of communications. Dr. Roel Vertegaal illustrated this new
technology with examples developed at the Human Media Lab, including eye
contact sensing phones, video conferencing systems that optimize turn
taking, and attentive office cubicles.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present
Harvey Rosen, Mayor of Kingston, who spoke on
"The Municipality's Role in Shaping Kingston's Future"
at our September 15, 2006 luncheon event.

Kingston Mayor Harvey Rosen shares his thoughts as to how
and why the City of Kingston must continue to play a leading role in building
a strong local economy, with knowledge-based organizations as a cornerstone.
In addition to describing how the City is working with other community
organizations focused on innovation clusters of interest to KTC members,
Mayor Rosen will describe how Council's strategic infrastructure priorities
capitalize on Kingston's natural, cultural and institutional strengths, directly
enhancing the quality of life that is essential to attracting and retaining talented
people for technology-oriented enterprises.

The Kingston Technoloy Council was proud to present
Mark Romoff, President and CEO of the Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.,
who spoke on "Investing in Economic Growth Through Innovation"
at our April 21, 2006 luncheon event.

The Ontario's Centres of Excellence are Ontario primary vehicle for developing academic-industrial collaborations that create technical and economic benefits for both individual businesses and the province of Ontario.

On April 1, 2004, the four Ontario Centres of Excellence -- Communications and Information Technology Ontario (CITO), the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology (CRESTech; since renamed the Centre for Earth and Environmental Technologies), Materials and Manufacturing Ontario (MMO) and Photonics Research Ontario (PRO) -- merged into a single entity: Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc. The merger was designed to build on the existing Centre's 17-year history of success, creating an organization capable of fulfilling a renewed mandate from the province of Ontario.

OCE Inc. was created to be a critical player in the province's innovation and competitiveness agenda, acting as its lead agency for translating academic research strengths into global economic competitiveness. OCE Inc.'s vision for the next three years is to:

* become a primary destination in Ontario for commercializing and
adopting new technologies, as a critical part of Ontario's
competitiveness agenda;
* serve the needs of visionary businesses and enable the work of
Ontario's best applied researchers; and,
* be valued publicly as a critical engine in Ontario's long term
economic growth and economic competitiveness.

OCE Inc. has already begun to realize this vision. Recognizing energy is a sector of vital importance to Ontario's prosperity, OCE Inc. launched a new Centre for Energy in January 2005. This is the first new Centre established since 1987 and is a demonstration of OCE Inc.'s improved ability to respond to new opportunities.

Mark Romoff joined the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc. as President and CEO in fall 2004. He is a career foreign service professional with a strong track record for advancing the competitive interests and opportunities for Canadian companies internationally.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present
Rob Miller of Vector Wind Energy Inc.
at our March 24, 2006 luncheon event.

Rob Miller is the Manager of Business Development for Kingston project manager for Vector Wind Energy Inc. He is a both a member and on the Board of SWITCH. Rob shared his recent experience with Canadian Wind projects, especially the local ones, the 'climate' for wind and the usual business challenges of regulation.

Vector, a publicly traded company, has the long-term goal to own or manage at least 200MW of wind capacity by 2010. Vector has optioned more than 40,000 acres across the country, enough land to support over 1000MW of wind development: these land parcels are spread among 17 different projects in 6 provinces and Nunavut. In 2005 Vector completed a direct drive turbine in Nova Scotia on a consulting basis for an investment client, and is operating the machine for their client. Most recently, in 2006, the company has begun planning construction of additional units, and continues to actively compete for opportunities to sell power to provincial grid operators across the country.

Vector is active in Ontario with 3 projects under development. Vector is focusing on behind-the-meter development in Ontario because of the large number of major industrial and municipal customers located along the shores of the Great Lakes Ontario is becoming an attractive market for wind development as the province is adopting an aggressive renewal strategy to meet a supply shortage looming by 2010.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present
Dr. Timothy J. Bryant, Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
and Scientific Chair of the Human Mobility Research Centre, as he spoke on
"The Niagara Foot: Bench to Bedside in a Small Company - University Environment"
at our January 20, 2006 luncheon event.

Dr. Bryant has been a key driver in moving technologies out of HMRC's labs and into the community and marketplace. Dr. Bryant's talk will focus on lessons learned in taking the Niagara Foot from concept to a functional medical device that restores mobility to landmine survivors.

The KTC was proud to present
Bill Beattie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation,
who gave us "An Update on the Economic Blueprint of Kingston"
at our September 16, 2005 luncheon event.

On September 16th, 2005 the Kingston Technology Council kicked off its 2005-2006 season with its first speaker series luncheon, held at the Harbour restaurant. During the luncheon, the board of directors held its Annual General Meeting, where it introduced its slate of directors for the New Year, and board chair Gord MacDougall laid down the strategy for the upcoming year.

The guest speaker of this event was Mr. Bill Beattie, CEO of the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO), who outlined KEDCO’s economic blueprint for Kingston, entitled reaching our potential.

Mr Beattie’s presentation covered KEDCO’s plans for developing the various economic sectors of Kingston as well as for growing itself into a sales-oriented corporation. He summarized KEDCO’s past performance, and their plan to eliminate the prosperity gap, followed by an assessment of competitive strengths of Kingston>. Looking forward, Mr Beattie discussed KEDCO’s plans for the future, as well as a re-aligning of their resources to better improve Kingston’s economy. The presentation concluded with how KEDCO will be focusing on working with the technology leaders in Kingston, such as Parteq Innovations and ELORIN, to forge new relationships to make sure that technology transfer results in jobs within the Kingston area.

The event was well attended, with over fifty KTC members and non members, coming together to network and learn more about the local economic blueprint.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present
Dr. Petru G. Lucuta, ACERAM Technologies, who spoke on
"Growing a Technology Business in Kingston and Canada"
at our May 20, 2005 luncheon event.

In business since 1994, ACERAM is a Canadian Corporation that develops, designs, scales-up and produces the most advanced ceramic materials, technologies and products for various commercial, security and defense applications. These products address the need for new materials that can withstand ever-increasing temperatures, aggressive chemical environments, and higher criteria for wear and impact resistance.

In business since 1994, ACERAM is a Canadian Corporation that develops, designs, scales-up and produces the most advanced ceramic materials, technologies and products for various commercial, security and defense applications. These products address the need for new materials that can withstand ever-increasing temperatures, aggressive chemical environments, and higher criteria for wear and impact resistance.

ACERAM has succeeded in developing a variety of functional proprietary ceramics for various applications related to metal processing and defense. The Company patented the CERAMOR® armor system in 2002 and has since been aggressively marketing it as part of the CERAMOR® MAP integrated armor systems for personal and other assets protection. ACERAM’s proprietary ceramic products provide greater protection at lower cost and weight and are rapidly gaining recognition through demanding trial results as being “Best in Class”.

At our February 9, 2007 luncheon, the Kingston Technology Council was proud to present Don Edwards, a senior communications professional with extensive experience in traditional coporate andmarketing communications, journalism, new mediat tools and trends,and consulting.

Don Edwards addressed, "Integrating Social Media: Why it's time for you to join the conversation." He spoke of the exponential growth of a new generation of websites and web-based tools that allow people to connect with each other, share content and express themselves more easily online. His company provides the Kingston Podcasting Network as a community service.

MetalCraft Marine, with its innovative design and construction
techniques, has carved a strong niche in the North American
commercial boat industry. Their greatest area of success has
been designing and building high-speed Patrol and Search &
Rescue craft. For more information on MetalCraft Marine, visit
www.metalcraftmarine.com.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to present
David E. Yake, Director of Research, Engineering and
Business Development, DuPont Canada, who spoke on
"DuPont and its transformation from gunpowder to
'The Miracles of Science'" at our November 17, 2006
luncheon event.

The Kingston Technology Council was proud to presentDavid E. Yake, Director of Research, Engineering andBusiness Development, DuPont Canada, who spoke on"DuPont and its transformation from gunpowder to'The Miracles of Science'" at our November 17, 2006luncheon event.