Title: PNT as the invisible backbone of natural disaster management
Short Biography:
Dr. Yang Gao is a Professor and Associate Head (Research & Graduate Studies) in the Department of Geomatics Engineering at the University of Calgary. His research interests focus on precise positioning and navigation with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and integration with other enabling sensors.
Prior to joining UC as an Assistant Professor in 1998, his career comprised periods in government and industry sectors, including Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) where he was a 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.
As a world leading academic in Satellite Navigation, Dr. Gao has 350 plus journal and conference publications and 10 plus patents who is one of top 2% most widely cited scientists by Stanford. He has supervised 50 plus PhD/MSc students, 20 plus visiting PhD students, 20 plus postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars as well as numerous undergraduate students. He received Graduate Education Award for graduate student supervision and several awards for teaching excellence.
Dr. Gao is very active in technology transfer of his research results to the industry. He founded two successful startup companies, serving as CEO for one until its acquisition and CTO presently for one who has led the development of advanced precise navigation technologies and products.
Dr. Gao’s academic and leadership contributions have been recognized by major national and international awards, including the prestigious Thurlow Award from the US Institute of Navigation (ION), the Intermap Award from the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG), the Research Excellence Summit Award from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), the US Institute of Navigation (ION), the UK Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), and the International Association of Geodesy (IAG).
Dr. Gao has provided many years of distinguished service to international society and professional community such as International Association of Geodesy (IAG), US Institute of Navigation (ION), International Association of Chinese Professionals in Global Positioning Systems (CPGPS), International Federation of Surveyors (FIG). He has served as Editor for ten international journals. He is currently the President-Elect of CIG and Vice Chair of the ION Alberta Section.