Thomas Sears
Thomas is a Ph.D. candidate and Vanier Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His research focuses on real-time learning during robotic exploration, with applications ranging from environmental monitoring to adaptive precision control during autonomous flight. He enjoys working on engineering challenges where space exploration intersects applications and benefits on Earth.
Before starting his Ph.D., Thomas was an engineer at Sinclair Interplanetary (now RocketLab) in Toronto, Ontario, where he had the chance to design, build, test, and deliver satellite control components for spacecraft designers around the world. He previously studied at Carleton University (B.Eng.) and the University of Toronto's Space Flight Lab (M.A.Sc.), where his research on materials and mechanisms for de-orbiting technology was critical to the demonstrated success of the CanX-7 nanosatellite mission.