Team

Prior to founding Mission Control, Ewan worked at a major Canadian space company as a systems designer and project manager. He has been a subsystem design lead on three rover prototypes for the Canadian Space Agency. Ewan was a systems and electrical designer and operations engineer on the Space Shuttle Program and was a mission controller for 10 of the last 12 Space Shuttle missions at NASA JSC. He also conducted numerous testing and verification activities at NASA KSC. Ewan has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from Queen’s University and a Master’s degree in Technology Innovation Management at Carleton University. In his spare time, he likes to read, write, and escape to the cabin.

As Chief Technology Officer at Mission Control, Michele leads all technology development activities and R&D initiatives. Michele has broad engineering leadership experience, having led interdisciplinary engineering projects from concept to production across military, aeronautical and space applications. Michele’s research expertise is in robotic and planetary mobility. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University. When not spending time with his young family, you can find Mic in the Gatineau hills on a pair of skis or pedaling hard on his bicycle.

As Chief Science Officer, Melissa guides technology development to meet the needs of scientists, and conducts mission operations research. As a planetary geologist, she has led more than 10 human and robotic mission simulations with CSA, NASA, Western University, and others in Moon and Mars analogue environments around the world. Melissa is an Adjunct Faculty member at both Western University and the International Space University. She attained her Ph.D. (Planetary Geology) from Western University, and holds a diploma in University Teaching and a M.Sc. (Geology) from the University of New Brunswick. In her spare time, Mel likes to hike, canoe, do yoga, and spend time with her family.

Yolanda is the Director of People and Programs at Mission Control where she provides the programmatic execution expertise to support the success of Mission Controls’ strategic goals. She has over 20 years of experiences in the space industry and has been involved with projects through all phases, from pre-phase 0 studies through design and development to commissioning and on-orbit operations. Previous programs include RapidEye, an optical Earth Observation 5-satellite constellation, Sapphire, a space surveillance small satellite and as well as numerous projects using AI / ML to improve performance and reduce operator loading.  Yolanda holds a BEng (Aerospace) from Carleton University and has been a certified PMP member since 2015. Away from work she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and baking (particularly cupcakes), and travelling.

Vinita Marwaha Madill is a Project Manager at Mission Control, and brings her background as a space operations engineer and Founder of Rocket Women, a STEM advocacy platform. Previously, Vinita has worked as a European Space Agency (ESA) contractor focused on human spaceflight operations for future projects, including the European Robotic Arm. At ESA’s European Astronaut Centre, Vinita helped design the SkinSuit and conducted a study on future spacesuit design and operations for lunar exploration. Vinita studied Mathematics and Physics with Astrophysics at King’s College London and went on to gain master’s degrees in Space Management from the International Space University (ISU) and in Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University, UK.

Kaizad is the Business Development Manager at Mission Control. Kaizad leads our product and business development strategies to help solve some of the our partners and customers’ challenges in spaceflight mission development and operations. He brings a background in robotics and space industry knowledge to help shape how our computing technologies and web-based user interfaces can improve the user experience of developers, planetary scientists, and operators of missions in space and on Earth. Kaizad has a B.Sc. and M.A.Sc. in aerospace engineering at Purdue University and the University of Toronto respectively. Kaizad’s past experience includes leadership positions at Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, an international student-run space advocacy movement. Outside Mission Control HQ, Kaizad enjoys cooking, traveling, astro/landscape photography, hiking and climbing.

Rohaan Ahmed (PEng, PMP, Six Sigma Greenbelt) is a Product Manager at Mission Control. During his career, he has had the privilege of working on some iconic Space Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Aviation programs, including the ExoMars 2022 Mars Rover for the European Space Agency, the Canadarm3 for NASA’s Deep Space Lunar Gateway, the Canadarm2 for the International Space Station, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and Airbus A380. Rohaan is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, whilst holding a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto. In addition, he currently serves as a Combat Engineering Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, and as Marketing Director in Children of Hope, a federally registered charity enabling education for orphaned and destitute children worldwide

Adam is Mission Control’s Manager of Space and Education, developing project management structures and programmatic review of space projects and overseeing operations for our Mission Control Academy program. In the past, Adam has managed several CSA and ESA concept studies, and worked on the STS-114 mission, leading a team of analysts at NASA Johnson Space Center for maiden flight of LCS for on-orbit damage detection. Adam graduated with a B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Waterloo.

Evan is the Lead Software Engineer at Mission Control, working to design and implement reliable real-time distributed software systems, and high-performance algorithms in deep learning and image processing. Evan leads all software infrastructure for Mission Control’s projects and deployments. Prior to working at Mission Control, Evan lead a team on Carleton’s Satellite Design Project, designing and implementing the guidance and navigation solution for the CuSAT-1 3U cubesat. Evan graduated with a Bachelor in Aerospace Engineering (Space Systems Design) at Carleton University.

Luis is a Senior Software Developer at Mission Control. He brings many years of broad industry experience, ranging from embedded real-time software to distributed server-side software. Luis led the development of a pioneering agricultural UAV, co-founded a company focused on modular embedded systems and helped build and scale a product at a software startup all the way to acquisition. His academic background is in Computer Science, with a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. from the University of São Paulo. In his spare time, Luis likes to spend time with his loved ones and learn about life, the universe and everything.

Emily joins Mission Control with 10 years of experience working behind the scenes supporting technology start-ups, helping small and medium-sized enterprises navigate government and industry partnerships, the early days of hiring, and everything in between. As the Manager of Business Operations, Emily will oversee the office management as we navigate the next phase of growth for Mission Control.

Candice is the Communications Manager at Mission Control and brings 10+ years of experience in marketing and communications to the team. Prior to joining Mission Control, Candice has worked with various tech companies; helping them expand their overall message and reach new and existing markets through public relations, social media and other communication strategies. Away from work she enjoys spending time with her family and being outdoors.

Matt is a Systems Engineer at Mission Control. He attained his Ph.D. from Western University, along with bachelors and masters degrees in aerospace engineering at Carleton University. His past academic projects and collaborations include the Barefoot Rover project with JPL, the Kapvik rover protype at Carleton, analogue mission campaigns, and managing the Ukpik-1 CubeSat project at Western. Matt has worked at ESA as a systems engineer and project coordinator. Matt enjoys spending time in the kitchen.

Andrew is an AI Specialist at Mission Control where he advances artificial intelligence technologies and products. With a background in aerospace and nanotechnology his expertise spans anomaly detection, imaging spectroscopy, and remote sensing data analysis. Andrew holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia (Physics) and a BSc from the University of Waterloo (Mathematical Physics). On weekends you can find him hiking, canoeing, or in a tent with a paperback and his husky-shepherd Max.

Apeksha is a Software Engineer at Mission Control. She studied Aerospace Electronics and Systems at Carleton University. In the past, Apeksha was involved in Carleton’s Rocket Design and UAV Design Teams, and team lead for Carleton’s UGV Team. She was previously a co-op student at Provectus Robotics, getting a lot of hands-on experience with robotics. Outside of work, she likes to read and draw.

Hugo is a Software Engineer at Mission Control. He recently graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in Computer Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. For his capstone project, he helped design an infrared horizon detection system for attitude determination on LEO satellites. Previously, Hugo worked in game development at Blackbird Interactive and on machine vision cameras at FLIR Systems. Outside of work, Hugo enjoys making music with his collection of synthesizers.

Tim is a Junior Software Engineer at Mission Control. He recently completed his graduate studies in computer science at Lakehead University. His graduate research focused primarily on lightweight deep learning for monocular depth estimation. Tim previously worked at Radialis Medical providing software development support for medical imaging prototypes. Outside of work, Tim enjoys spending time with his golden retriever Lilly and his friends.

Matthew works as a software engineer at Mission Control. He recently completed his MASc degree in computer engineering at the University of Waterloo. His research focused on using deep learning to implement an efficient uncertainty estimation method for 3D object detection. Previously he was a research engineer working on software development and integration for a University of Waterloo self-driving car project (UW Moose). Outside of work, Matthew enjoys listening to audiobooks and gaming.

Jacob is a Junior Software Engineer at Mission Control. He recently graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Computer Science and a minor in Combinatorics & Optimization. Previously, he was an undergraduate research assistant for the University’s Programming Languages Group, working on a novel language named C∀ (pronounced “C-for-all”). Outside of work, Jacob enjoys discovering new music, playing the electric bass and finding something new to learn.

Julia is a Junior Software Engineer at Mission Control. She recently completed her degree in Software Engineering from the University of Calgary. During university, she completed a 16-month internship with Canadian UAVs where she worked closely with flight radars to develop an airspace monitoring system. She later helped design an application to detect the location of Mode A/C aircraft using trilateration for her capstone project. Outside of work, Julia likes to paint and play board games.

Veronica is a MASc Candidate at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Aerospace Studies, and is currently working part-time at Mission Control on science communications and public engagement. She received her BSc in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. She was also a Fall 2018 co-op student at Mission Control, contributing to the development of machine learning algorithms for planetary exploration applications, and has previous work experience at the Canadian Space Agency and MDA. When she doesn’t have her nose buried in code, Veronica enjoys spending time outdoors while hiking, camping and gazing at the stars.

As Manager of Business Operations and Communications, and founding team member of Mission Control, Anne works part time to drive strategic communications and assist with business ops for the company. Anne has a management consultant background with experience in managing partnerships, performing market analysis, operations and change management in organizations. Before this, she graduated with an HBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University and is currently a full-time MBA student at the Harvard Business School. Outside of work, Anne likes to make pottery, hike, stargaze, and travel.

Becca works part-time at Mission Control as a Robotics and Machine Learning Specialist. She contributes to design and implement machine learning algorithms for planetary exploration applications. Prior to joining Mission Control, Becca worked doing research on control theory at Queen’s University, and on modeling networks in the human brain at Inria in France. Her past experiences include being involved with organizing the Queen’s Space Conference and taking part in the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX). Becca has a degree in Mathematics and Engineering from Queen’s University, specializing in Systems and Robotics.

Cosette is a Ph.D. Candidate (Earth and Space Science) at York University and is working part-time at Mission Control as a Science Operations Specialist. She received both her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in geology at the University of Alberta and specializes in the geology of airless bodies in our Solar System (i.e., the Moon, asteroids). Cosette attended the Vatican Observatory Summer School (2016) in Italy to learn in depth about water in the Solar System and was a 2019 Exploration Intern at the Lunar and Planetary Institute where she helped complete a geologic assessment of the Moon’s south pole to prepare for NASA’s Artemis mission. Cosette enjoys traveling, watching horrible natural disaster movies, and going for walks with her dog Molly.

Benoît is a Geomatics intern at Mission Control through the Mitacs Accelerate program. He graduated from the University of Sherbrooke with a bachelor’s degree in applied geomatics in 2021. Recently, Benoît started his master’s in applied geomatics and remote sensing with his research focusing on the use of learning-based super-resolution methods in space exploration. When he is not at work, Benoît enjoys spending time with his friends and watching documentaries about geopolitics!

Vanessa is a Mission Operations Engineering Student Intern at Mission Control. She is one of ten Inaugural Zenith Fellows, selected for her outstanding community involvement, technical capabilities, and passion for contributing to the Canadian space sector. The Zenith Fellowship pairs talented individuals with executive mentors and job opportunities in Canadian Space. Vanessa is a third-year Mechanical Engineering Student at Toronto Metropolitan University under the prestigious President’s Scholarship. She has a passion for robotics and space exploration and explores that passion through the contribution of technical ideas and community leadership. She has contributed to cardiac catheter robotics research, was a mechanical and science team lead on her university’s robotics team overseeing mechanical, controls, life detection and geology teams, and she is the 2022-2023 President of the national non-profit SEDS Canada (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) . Outside of work Vanessa enjoys hiking, whitewater kayaking, knitting design, rock climbing, and creative writing.

Mehsan is a Robotics/Software Engineering Co-op Student at Mission Control. He is a third-year Computer Engineering student at Memorial University of Newfoundland with previous software development experience working on machine learning models at Kraken Robotics, helping develop a brain-computer interface at Memorial, and more. In his spare time, Mehsan likes to travel, read, and spend time with his friends

Dew is a Robotics Software Engineering Co-op Student at Mission Control. He is a second-year Mechatronics Engineering student enrolled at the University of Waterloo. Dew has previous robotics software experience from various projects such as a “Waiter-Bot” that autonomously delivers snacks and water to students as well as a SMART radio-controlled robot car that utilizes collision avoidance and can be controlled from a smartphone app. In his spare time, Dew enjoys singing, traveling, and playing sports such as soccer, basketball, and karate.

Ruthy is a Mission Operations Engineering Co-op Student at Mission Control. She completed her Bachelor of Engineering Science in software engineering and is currently doing a Masters of Engineering Science at Western University. Previously she has worked on the OBC team for Western and the Nunavut Artic College’s Ukpik-1 CubeSat. Currently, her research interests are in image classification and object detection. Outside of work, Ruthy enjoys cooking and listening to music.

Negib is a Robotics/Software Engineering Co-op Student at Mission Control and is a third-year Computer Engineering student at Memorial University of Newfoundland. His previous experiences include working as a software developer at LaunchGood and working as a full-stack developer at Memorial University. He enjoys working on hardware and software projects, some of his highlights include winning a Hackaton and making a Traffic Light system with an FPGA board. In his spare time, he likes playing team sports or enjoys learning juggling tricks.

Guillaume is a Robotics/Software Engineering Co-op Student at Mission Control and a third year Geomatics Engineering student at Laval University. During past employment, he developed web/mobile applications and an augmented reality software integrating LiDAR-scanned 3D assets. His involvement in various university student groups has led him working on CubeSat ADCS, stratospheric balloon experiment and autonomous vehicle development. It has provided him with various skills and knowledge about space technologies, project management, hardware and software. Guillaume likes to play guitar, try different microbreweries, and go out on adventures either travelling or outdoor trips.

Jean Paul Carnicer is an experienced spacecraft systems engineer and project manager with a solid international track record of delivering outstanding consulting services in the space industry around the world.

Mr. Carnicer has received his MBA with the Norwich class of 2010 and his MSc. in Aerospace Engineering in 2001 from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina.

In his 20 years of experience in the space industry, Mr. Carnicer has significantly contributed to the success of more than 34 satellite programs and launches. His experience spans from satellite programs using small LEO spacecrafts for earth observation, to telecommunication programs using massive six-ton GEO spacecrafts. By conducting systems engineering for numerous satellites and launch services, he has gained experience working with most manufacturers, suppliers and launch vehicle companies around the world.

Mr. Carnicer has also worked as a lead spacecraft thermal engineer, providing thermal design, analysis and testing for over 10 space projects.

Mr. Carnicer has also supported investors, by performing commercial due-diligence in several deals involving satellites.

Ryan is Mission Control’s Mission & Systems Specialist. A professional engineer with over 10 years of experience, Ryan has worked on design, development, procurement and operations for projects including PCW, Anik F2, Anik G1, Nimiq 6, Urthecast’s OptiSAR constellation, and Telesat’s LEO Vantage constellation, to name a few. Ryan is an active member of local space and engineering communities, founding the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Space Society (CSS) and becoming Vice President of CSS in 2017. He also founded QShift Inc. a federal corporation providing space and satcom systems consulting services. Ryan has an M.A.Sc in Aerospace Engineering from Carleton University, and undergraduate degrees in Computing Technology and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ottawa.

As Mission Control’s Senior Research Advisor, Michaela focuses on developing international research collaborations and supporting education and outreach activities. She has worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of London Observatory and was an analogue astronaut at the Mars Desert Research Station (USA) in 2014 & 2017. Michaela holds a PhD from the University of Bristol (UK) and is currently the Chair of the Slovak Organisation for Space Activities (SOSA).

In his role at Mission Control, Simon supports programs to deliver space ready components from chip to product, commercializing and developing technology related to space applications. Simon has worked as a Business Unit director for Versawave Technologies, directing R&D activities into commercialization while managing engineering, sales, operations and marketing. Simon worked as an independent consultant in the same capacity after his time as Director of Operations, Manufacturing, IT & Facilities at OneChip Photonics Inc., and at Bookham Inc. (formerly Nortel). Simon holds a M.Sc. Aerospace Engineering from Clifton College and previously served on the British Army Air Corps and as a UN Peacekeeper.

Karl is an authority on robotics and autonomous vehicles whose opinion and commentary has been published and broadcast worldwide on Bloomberg, CNBC, BBC, and many other media outlets. As former director of the Robotic Mobility Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), his research resulted in more than 150 technical publications, 50 issued or filed patents, and numerous edited volumes, including books on the DARPA Grand Challenge and Urban Challenge autonomous vehicle competitions. Karl was named one of 2017’s “Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” by Goldman Sachs and designated a member of the 2017 “Recode 100” list of technology influencers.

Karl holds MS and PhD degrees from MIT, where he was a National Science Foundation fellow, and a BS from the University of Michigan, where he graduated first in his class. Karl is also an award-winning author of fiction whose novels and short stories have been translated into seven languages. Karl is CEO of Motional, the autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv PLC. He has collaborated with Mission Control on multiple projects including the development of our Autonomous Soil Assessment System.

Christine completed a BASc in Engineering Science-Aerospace from the University of Toronto and Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the MIT.

Christine has noteably worked with BAE, EADS Astrium Services, and was appointed Vice President for Research and Technology and Chief Technology Officer for the US arm of Airbus Group, Inc. At Airbus, Christine helped determine the technology needs of all business lines in the US and for delivered US-based research for the entire company.

Christine now focuses on organisational topics related to innovation and engineering. Through her company, CATx Technology, she also as a consultant to Toronto area technology start-ups on technology road mapping, strategy and organisational design. Christine is a member of Canada’s Space Advisory Board, which provides advice on Canada’s space strategy to the Minister for Industry, Science and Economic Development. She also sits on the Department of National Defence (DND) Independent Review Panel for Defence Acquisition and is a mentor for the Space stream at the University of Toronto’s Rotman Business School Creative Destruction Lab.