Security and Defence Studies, Sept 23/25: Moving slowly at high speed with Jeremy Wang and JP Hickey

Описание: Hypersonic technology is increasingly being recognized as a critical military capability that offers a unique combination of speed, range, and maneuverability. Allies and adversaries alike are in a race to reshape the threat landscape whilst detecting and defending against these rapidly moving aerial vehicles.
Whereas many countries have invested heavily in hypersonics, Canada remains one of the few developed nations without high-enthalpy hypersonic testing capabilities. Such capabilities are admittedly expensive and complicated to operate. Meanwhile, Russia has been actively testing their hypersonics missiles in Ukraine. China has built, on average, one large-scale hypersonic test facility per year since 2007. South of the border, sustained efforts in fostering hypersonic testing capabilities have resulted in massive investments in hypersonic testing capacity and the establishment of the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH).

In this talk, Drs Wang and Hickey show how Canada faces a cumulative historical deficit in key areas of science of technology relevant to hypersonics, namely high-speed aerodynamics and propulsion. Furthermore, we will survey approaches to develop hypersonics expertise of strategic value, using Australia as an exemplary case study for Canada’s efforts moving forward. As Canada urgently recapitalizes its defence sector, we must ensure that swift action is accompanied by informed risk-taking to drive progress.

Jeremy C.-H. Wang is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo and the Chief Operating Officer of Ribbit. He is an expert on dual-use autonomy and aerial robotics. Jeremy has served extensively in advisory roles to universities, colleges, associations, and government including Transport Canada and the Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre. He holds a PhD from the University of Waterloo.

Jean-Pierre Hickey is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo with a research interest in hypersonics, aeroacoustics, and aerothermal heating. He is an active member of the NATO AVT 352 working group on hypersonic turbulence and is set to co-lead the NATO AVT-ET-258 Exploratory Team on Experiments and Modelling of high-Reynolds number external and internal hypersonic flows. Prior to coming to the University of Waterloo in 2016, he has worked as a Research Scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford’s Center for Turbulence Research. He holds a PhD from the Royal Military College of Canada.