Vanguard Magazine

game ChanGer 56 DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com See the full interview online Q What is your role in your organization today? My role is to pilot the mission, vision, and execution of our research projects. In addition, I write, design, code, sol- der, weld, fabricate and dream on behalf of the company. Q What was your "aha" moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader? Tell us that story. I realized that, regardless of academic and professional credentials, I was not going to be "given" a prestigious job. Instead, I would have to "earn it" or "create" the job I wanted. I immediate- ly started prototyping new technologies for surveillance applications on my own in my apartment. Q Step back and analyze your journey; what is the take away you want to give to our audience? Don't waste your years hoping that someone else will pay you to do some- thing great on their behalf. Do some- thing great with your talents because it needs to be done, and do it now. Start that company. Produce that product. You are ready enough. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? I am fired up to fix systemic environ- mental problems in our country. Some- one has convinced the engineers that it's volunteer work, that it's a political or a scientific problem. Instead of chas- ing paychecks in cubicles, we should be maximizing the impact of our talents. We need to change the narrative to in- spire engineers to address environmental collapse through technological innova- tion. The next war will likely be fought over access to clean water. Even with our tiny population and our youthful indus- trial age, we can't eat the fish that we catch in the great lakes due to contami- nation. I smell opportunity! Q What is a habit that contributes to your success? I take time every day to relax the mind and think about the big picture. I try to contemplate the global system as a whole: where we are, how we can im- prove, and how our actions will impact the narrative in our time period. This time is well spent. It's where break- throughs have happened for us in diverse fields of science and engineering. Q What people or organizations do you believe best embody the innova- tion mindset? I like the style of bold disruptive innova- tors such as Richard Branson and Elon Musk. The experts tell them it'll never work. They like to reply, watch this! Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your organization or industry sector? The costs associated with underwater sensors are usually prohibitively expen- sive for small businesses to get involved in this industry sector. Q What are the biggest impedi- ments to innovation in today's enter- prise? The field of underwater warfare has seen a dramatic transformation towards autono- mous underwater vehicles similar to, al- though less publicized than, what's gone on with aircraft. The lack of public awareness of the trends in underwater warfare makes it harder to exploit funding opportunities. Q How has innovation become engrained in your organization's culture, and how is it being optimized? Uncharted Research and Development Incorporated has the advantage of being a micro corporation. As a result, we are extremely cheap to operate and can afford to take bold risks and change directions at a moment's notice. We even have the capability to hibernate between contracts. We are nimble, smart, and scrappy. An example of innovation being cultivated in our company is that instead of investing in an expensive commercial building, we opted for a future-forward approach. We have converted garages into workshops, and distributed some of the central of- fice infrastructure into several smaller re- mote labs, including an ice fishing shack, a yacht, and a shipping container lab. Each of these facilities is off the grid in a unique natural environment. Each produces their own power via solar cells, regulate, tem- perature, has composting bathroom facili- ties, lounging areas, and of course has sta- ble internet access. We call these facilities creative spaces, and they can be used by our staff instead of grinding each day away in a single main office. This innovative ap- proach allows our staff to keep fresh and creative all day long by being immersed in their natural environment – the great outdoors. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years? We hope to see many small disruptive in- novators such as ourselves enter the mar- ketplace with more efficient, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly technolo- gies. Jean Filion CEO Uncharted research and development Inc.

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