Brian Lynch

Background

About Brian Lynch

Research in various areas of space exploration is my greatest passion. My education is purely in the aerospace engineering field, where I focused on structural mechanics and vehicle and systems design. Near the end of my undergraduate degree I grew very interested in control systems, which has led me to pursue research in robotics and automation. Although my graduate thesis work focused on shape memory alloy control for rotorcraft and spacecraft actuators, I have had the opportunity to work on many other side projects as part of outstanding research teams. I've worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Queen's University Mining Systems Laboratory, building skills through the development and field testing of robotic systems and data analysis for improving autonomous technology in mining applications. After that, I worked as a researcher with the Carleton University Department of Earth Sciences to develop techniques for analyzing underground mobile LiDAR data to extract geophysical properties including machine learning and computer vision applications. Currently, I am a research scientist at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre leading robotics and automation R&D projects for the horticultural sector. These include developing a robotic cucumber harvester for greenhouses and a smart irrigation system based on machine learning for floral potted plants. This unique position has enabled me to thrive as a researcher but with an aim to develop marketable products with a high degree of innovation and industry impact. In addition to university research, I have a passion for teaching and have worked as an adjunct assistant professor at Queen’s University, teaching courses in engineering physics, computer programming, and machine vision, as well as mentoring and supervising students at both the undergraduate and graduate level.