Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, P.Eng., joined the University of Calgary in 1991 as an NSERC Women’s Faculty Award holder and has had a stellar career in research, teaching and service to the university and professional communities. She has made major and sustained contributions to the development, dissemination and commercialization of satellite-based positioning and navigation technology in Canada and internationally and has played an important role in the successful training of scores of engineering students and professionals. Through her innovative research and technology transfer activities, she has provided leadership that has lead to the University of Calgary being recognized for its outstanding satellite-based navigation research.

Dr. Cannon’s research has resulted in the development of new concepts and algorithms for precise positioning using GPS and the integration of GPS with inertial navigation systems (INS), as well as other low-cost sensors. Concepts and methods have been developed by Dr. Cannon to reliably position moving platforms, such as aircraft and ships, to within a few centimetres.

In addition, Dr. Cannon has been involved with novel applications including centimetre level aircraft-to-aircraft positioning, aircraft and ship attitude determination, precision farming, vehicle positioning systems for transportation and GPS augmentation with other sensors.

Since joining the University of Calgary, Dr. Cannon has raised over $7 million in research funds for her own research program. Results of this research have been published in over 80 journals and 180 conference papers in addition to numerous technical reports.

Honours, Awards and Distinctions

Dr. Cannon has received numerous awards for her work at the local, national and international levels, including:

• Steacie Fellowship Award, NSERC, 2002-2004
• Community Service Award, The University of Calgary Faculty Association (TUCFA), 2002
• Pioneer Award, Wired Woman Society of Canada, 2002
• Minerva Award, Alberta Women’s Science Network, 2002
• Elected member, Russian Academy of Navigation, 2001
• Order of the University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia, 2001
• Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering, 2000
• Kuznetsov’s Medal, Institute of Applied Mechanics, Russia, 2000
• Young Engineer Award, Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE), 1995
• Early Achievement Award, APEGGA, 1994

Professional Affiliations and Activities

Dr. Cannon is involved with many professional committees and boards, including:

• Directorships and Industry Advisory
• Trustee, Enbridge Income Fund, 2003-present
• Director, Calgary Science Centre, 2002-present
• Trustee, Alberta Ingenuity Fund, 2000-present
• Government Advisory Boards
• Chair, Geomatics Canada Advisory Committee, NRCan, 2002-present
• Advisory Board to the Minister of Natural Resources on Earth Sciences, 1999-present
• Director, Auto21 Networks of Centres of Excellence, 2002-2003
• Member, NSERC Reallocations Committee, 2001-2002
• Professional Committees and Working Groups
• Member, Science and Engineering Hall of Fame Selection Committee, Canadian Science and Technology Museum, 2003-present
• Vice Chair, Institute of Navigation Satellite Division, 2002-present
• Member, Development and Implementation Committee, Canadian Academy of Engineering, 2001-2002
• Member, CFI Multidisciplinary Assessment Committee, 2001
• Conference Organization
• Chair, Prairie Conference on Women in Science and Engineering, Calgary, 2001

This award is named for Mr. Frank Spragins, P.Eng., APEGGA President, 1975. Mr. Spragins was a driving force behind the Syncrude heavy oil sands project which is recognized as the largest industrial project ever to be undertaken in Canada. His personal qualities of vigour, imagination, courage and endurance, as well as his negotiating skills, were critical to its success.