Special Edition

Canada's "Rocket Man" to close Summit with a blast

ORION Summit delegates will get the chance to hear from astronaut and medical researcher Dr. Dave Williams, Canada's "Rocket Man," as he delivers what promises to be an inspiring keynote address, closing off the Summit with a blast.

Williams, who champions innovation and research collaboration, joined an exclusive club when he blasted into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, and again on Shuttle Endeavour when he walked out into space.

Trained as an emergency doctor and neuroscience researcher, Williams was one of four Canadians selected for the Canadian Astronaut Program in 1992, and flew as a mission specialist on board the Space Shuttle Colombia in 1998, where he participated in the Neurolab mission that performed experiments on the effects of microgravity on the brain and the nervous system.

Williams also flew on a second space mission in August 2007, when Space Shuttle Endeavour delivered a truss system and gyroscope to the International Space Station. Williams performed three spacewalks on that mission, a record for a Canadian astronaut.

A true Canadian hero born in Saskatoon and raised in Montreal, Williams is one of the NASA space program's most accomplished astronauts, setting records in spacewalking, logging over 687 hours in space, including three spacewalks, the highest number ever performed in a single mission.

He was part of the NEEMO 1 mission in 2001, a training exercise held in Aquarius, an underwater research habitat in Key Largo, Fla., which allows astronauts to train for the International Space Station and also to test technologies before they are used in space.

In 2006, Williams was the crew commander of the NEEMO 9 mission, which assessed methods of delivering medical care to a remote location, much like it would be done on a long flight in space.

With a passion for healthcare and risk management, prior to entering the Canadian Space Agency's program, Williams worked as an emergency room doctor and later as director of emergency services at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

Today, he is director of the new McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics, leading a team dedicated to developing innovative technologies to assist the development of local and remote patient care.

Dave Williams will speak at 3:45 pm in the MaRS Auditorium.