The Story
Twenty years ago, the Global Positioning System (GPS), a means of tracking position on earth using signals received by satellite, was in its infancy and consisted of six satellites built and owned by the US military. Its use was limited to only that period of time when four satellites were within view of any particular location. Today there is a network of 27 satellites which ensure that any location on earth can be pinpointed by GPS, and weekend hikers and sailors can buy off-the-shelf hand-held models for a few hundred dollars. Uses of GPS now include everything from wildlife tracking collars to a replacement for gyroscopes to measure pitch on board ships, to guidance systems for the family car.
In 1982, with a fresh BSc in Geomatics Engineering, Cannon came to work for Nortech Surveys, a seismic surveying and geomatics company in Calgary which was developing new GPS methodology and software. Intrigued, she returned to the U of Calgary to study Geomatics, the science of the production and management of spatial information. Winner of the 1988 Institute of Navigation (ION) student paper competition, Cannon researched techniques of precise positioning in airplanes using semi-kinematic differential GPS. She soon became a recognized leader in the area. After her PhD, she joined U of Calgary as an assistant professor, quickly gaining full professor status.
Cannon's current research activities include:
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Aircraft positioning and attitude, where scientists use GPS antennae mounted on the aircraft to attain position accuracies at the centimeter level and attitude accuracies at the few arc-minute level.
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Precision farming, where scientists attach a GPS system and yield monitor to a combine. The resulting data are used to create a prescription showing where fertilizer can best be applied
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Improvements in precise positioning where scientists are aiming at accuracies of 10 sq. centimeters within 300 sq. kilometers, by developing algorithms which take into account errors created by ionospheric and tropospheric interference as well as satellite orbits and signal multipath.
Image by: Freelance Illustrations and Graphics
As well as conducting research and publishing her findings, Dr. Cannon has served on many professional boards and has made over 200 presentations on GPS to school, community, professional and government groups. As NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the Prairie Region, she actively mentors girls and women, promoting science and engineering as potential careers. Her many awards include the NSERC Steacie Award, one of Canada's premier science and engineering prizes. In 2001, she received the Johannes Kepler Award for sustained and significant contributions to satellite-based navigation from the U.S. Institute of Navigation, of which Dr Cannon is past president.
Sources: NSERC News Release March 5, 2002; Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science and Technology; U of Calgary; Institute of Navigation; Wired Woman profile by Kathy Sinclair (Jan 2002); Dr Cannon's website. Photo: National Academy of Engineering
Career ideas:
- Mathematicians
- Statisticians
- Systems analysts
- Computer programmers
- Accountants
- Actuarians
- Financial auditors
- Insurance analysts
- Teachers
- Investment analysts
- Financial planners
The Person
- Birthplace
- Charlottetown, PEI
- Family Members
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- Husband: Gerard Lachapelle, PEng, PhD
- Daughter: Sara, born 1988
- Son: René, born 1992
- Other Interests
- Family activities, skiing, hiking
Reading, running
- Title
- Professor, Department of Geomatics Engineering
- Office
- University of Calgary
- Status
- Working
- Degrees
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- BSc (Mathematics and Computer Science), Acadia University, Nova Scotia, 1982
- BSc (Geomatics Engineering), U of Calgary, 1984
- MSc (Geomatics Engineering), U of Calgary
- PhD(Geomatics Engineering), U of Calgary, 1991
- PEng
- Awards
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- Steacie Fellowship (NSERC), 2002
- Wired Woman Pioneer Award, 2002
- Johannes Kepler Award, 2001
- Betty Vetter Award for Research (Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network), 2001
- Medal, 'Order of the University', Baumann Moscow State Technical University, Russia, 2001
- One of Canada's Top 40 Under 40, 1997
- APEGGA Early Accomplishment Award, 1994
- Calgary YWCA Women of Distinction Award, 1993
- Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering
- Mentor
- Mother, a entomologist and high school math and science teacher.
- Last Updated
- September 17, 2015
- Popularity
- 45291
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