This conference will consist of a mix of invited talks, submitted contributions and workshops. The program committee will establish the conference program on the basis of abstract submittals.

The presentations will be oral, so extended abstracts are encouraged. The abstracts should be limited to 2 pages and MUST follow the format for this conference. Abstracts will be available for download by all delegates following the conference.
 

View List of Speakers and Topics from Previous Years
• 2004 PTMSS Conference
• 2005 PTMSS Conference
• 2006 PTMSS Conference
 

  
 

  Plenary Session
   

 

  Name: W. David Carrier, III
 Organization: Director of the Lunar Geotechnical Institute in Lakeland, Florida

 Dr. David Carrier is the Director of the Lunar Geotechnical Institute in Lakeland, Florida; and is a coauthor of the Lunar Sourcebook. During the Apollo program, Dr. Carrier was a NASA employee at the Johnson Space Center in Houston where he was responsible for the development and performance of lunar soil experiments. His activities included laboratory testing of returned lunar soil, design of lunar surface experiments, and Astronaut training. He told Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin how deep they were going to sink into the lunar surface.
Dr. Carrier was a member of the science support team in Mission Control and a member of the Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory during each of the Apollo missions. Some of the lunar equipment that Dr. Carrier helped to develop is on display at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Current assignments include: Co-Investigator, A Lunar Laser Ranging Array for the 21st Century; member of the Science Advisory Team of the RESOLVE experiment package (Regolith
and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction); and member of the Planetary Protection Subcommittee of the Science Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. At the conclusion of the Apollo program, Dr. Carrier left NASA and has worked on terrestrial mining and construction projects in eighteen states and fourteen foreign countries. He has been a private geotechnical consultant for the past twelve years. He is a Fellow and Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the United Kingdom.
 
 
 
  Name: Jean-Claude Piedbœuf, B.Ing, M.Sc.A, Ph.D.
Organization: Chef, Requis et planification technologique | Head, Technology Requirement and Planning


Canadian Space Agency

Jean-Claude Piedbœuf graduated from École Polytechnique in 1983 in Mechanical Engineering. He got a MscA (1985) and a PhD (1989) in Electrical Engineering at École Polytechnique with specialization in robotics. In 1989-90, he spent a year at the Technical Institute of Munich. From 1990 to 1995, he was Assistant and then Associate Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston. In 1996, he joined the CSA as a researcher in dynamics. In 1997, he took the manager position of the newly created Robotics section in the Spacecraft Engineering Directorate of the Space Technologies Branch. In May 2002, he took the position of Deputy Director of the Spacecraft Engineering Directorate. In December 2003, he was appointed Advisor in Sciences and Technologies to the Vice-President Sciences, Technologies and Programs. From November 2004 to November 2005, he was Acting Director for the Directorate of Technology Management and Applications in the Space Technology Branch. From 2001 to 2004, he was the Coordinator of the Space Technology Research Program that covers all internal and collaborative R&D in Space Technologies. He is also Adjunct Professor to the Department of Electrical Engineering at the École Polytechnique de Montréal and to the Department of System Engineering of the University of Waterloo. He is currently one the CSA delegates on the Global Exploration Strategy group that this discusses the future of space exploration. He is also on the organizing committee of the International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics & Automation for Space (i-SAIRAS 2008).

 
 
  Name: Jim Vance
Organization: Director of Mining Research Natural Resources Canada CANMET Mining and Mineral Science Laboratories

Jim Vance has broad experience in various capacities in the mining industry over the past 39 years.  He began his career in the mines exploration field in the hardrock mining industry in Ontario, followed by experience in softrock mining in Saskatchewan as a research engineer and mining engineer.  After returning to Ontario, he worked briefly as a research engineer with the Geomechanics Research Centre of Laurentian University before joining the CANMET Mining and Mineral Sciences Laboratories.  At CANMET, Jim was initially involved with abandoned mines and Ground Control issues, followed by a role as Deputy Director of the Environment and Mineral Processing programs.  Currently, he is Director of Mining Research at CANMET.