Staff
SEDS Canada
Roksana Sheikholmolouki (she/her)
Canadian Space Conference Lead — SEDS Canada
Roksana is a final year Biology student at Concordia University with a passion in Space Biology & Data Science. She loves to work in multidisciplinary teams and is involved in various student space organizations in Canada to learn more about the space industry and to give back to the community. Roksana wholeheartedly believes that space is for everyone and is committed to inspiring students across Canada to get involved in their favourite space related STEAM opportunities.
Ishan Acharya (he/him)
Canadian Space Conference Speakers Coordinator — SEDS Canada
Ishan holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from McMaster University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Toronto. Starting with a trip to see space shuttle Atlantis to watching the spectacular failures leading to the first Falcon 9 VTVL, Ishan is passionate about innovation in the space field. Always enthusiastic to promote STEM, he co-founded the McMaster Design League and now aims to continue this further with SEDS.
Simran Bhaskar (she/her)
Canadian Space Conference Sponsorship Coordinator — SEDS Canada
Simran Bhaskar is a second-year Biomedical Sciences student at Toronto Metropolitan University. She has always loved space and learning more about the universe! At SEDS, she hopes to encourage students to follow their passion!
Simeon Chalamanov (he/him)
Canadian Space Conference Sponsorship Lead — SEDS Canada
Simeon is a 3rd year Aerospace Engineering student at Ryerson University. He is the Business and Structural Aerodynamic Lead at the Ryerson Formula Racing design team, which will compete it’s first electric car in 2022. Simeon has always been fascinated by space, interplanetary exploration and the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life. He hopes to help SEDS inspire many students to pursue a career in the space industry.
Adam Lam (he/him)
Canadian Space Conference Web Developer — SEDS Canada
Adam is the web developer for the Canadian Space Conference and the Chief Technologist of SEDS Canada. He is responsible for SEDS-Canada’s online presence and its development of internal tooling. He hopes to work on problems faced by organizations in the space industry by applying capabilities in process automation, user experience research, and software development.
Mya McKinnon (she/her)
Space Content Creator — SEDS Canada
Tala Abou Rizk (she/her)
Canadian Space Conference Marketing Lead — SEDS Canada
Tala is a third-year mechanical engineer student minoring in aerospace engineering at McGill University. She has always been fascinated in exploring the vast cosmos and hopes to contribute to the aerospace industry. With the purchase of her first telescope, Tala began to develop a passion for astrophotography and deep sky observation.
Tala hopes to further her interest in the aerospace industry and make a difference in this field.
Michelle Sun (she/her)
Canadian Space Conference Graphic Designer — SEDS Canada
Michelle is a second year Engineering Science student at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about illustration and graphic design, and is always looking for opportunities to combine her artistic interests with her professional endeavours. As an engineering student, she is interested in a wide range of technical topics, and hopes to explore her curiosity for space science and aerospace through her role at SEDS-Canada.
Sharanjit Virdi (she/her)
Canadian Space Conference Logistics Lead — SEDS Canada
Sharanjit is a 4th year Computer Engineering student at Simon Fraser University. She has always been fascinated with space and hopes to contribute to it through her software skills. As a SEDS member, Sharanjit hopes to work with a team of like-minded individuals to create amazing opportunities to help make space more accessible to everyone!
PolyOrbite
Katherine Zamudio-Turcotte (she/her)
President of PolyOrbite
Katherine is a final year Computer Engineering Student at Polytechnique Montreal specializing in embedded systems design. She has been doing robotics as an extracurricular activity for the past 7 years and has interests that range from space technologies to visual arts. She will be starting a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus in microelectronics in the next year. Katherine is committed to encouraging new students to learn how to program and build robots as it is what inspired her to become an engineer and what lead her to believe anything is possible.
Loïc Bydal (he/him)
Command & Data Handling Systems Team Member – PolyOrbite
I am a young one starting my second year studying Information Technology at André-Laurendeau CEGEP. Ive been a computer magician for all my life, but I only started to seriously consider IT study when a few years back I discovered programming. Since then, I fell in love with the hardship of it and is well going on my path to becoming a Space Software Engineer.
Hubert Pilote (he/him)
Director of the Rover Department – PolyOrbite
Hubert is a second year Aerospace engineering student at Polytechnique Montréal with a passion for project management, space and robotics. As director of the Rover department of PolyOrbite, he is able to get involved in all of those fields at once. He is excited about his project’s future and believes rovers are going to become one of humanity’s greatest assets in the exploration of extra-terrestrial environments.
Alexis Roger (he/him)
System Engineering Rover Team Member – PolyOrbite
I am final year computer science graduate student from University of Montreal. I got my first experience with the field of space exploration by practicing pyrotechnics in my bachelor at Ecole Polytechnique (Paris). I then graduated to amateur rocketry during an exchange semester in EPFL (Lausanne), and now work on the rover for PolyOrbite, in Polytechnique Montreal. I specialize in artificial intelligence but I love to push the boundaries and explore the applications of the methods I learn and develop to other fields, mainly space exploration!
Astropoly
Mohamed Amine Elforaici
President of Astropoly
Mohamed Amine is a biomedical engineer. He graduated with an honors degree in biomedical engineering at Polytechnique Montreal after pursuing medical studies. He just started a PhD with the goal of developing AI tools for medical prognosis in patients with cancer, as long as being a lecturer at Polytechnique Montreal. He is also the president of Astropoly, the astronomy club of Polytechnique Montreal that he co-founded in 2017, which mission is to increase public awareness and interest in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, aerospace, and related disciplines. He was also on the organizing committee of the Montreal Space Symposium.
He first discovered his interest in observational astronomy, then in space medicine, and has become a youth advocate for space education in his community.
Christopher Teil
Logistics and Sponsorship
Christopher holds a bachelor’s degree and is currently concluding a Master of Applied Science at Polytechnique Montreal, both in aerospace engineering. His passion for astronomy led him, with a group of students, to establish Astropoly, the astronomy student organization at Polytechnique Montreal. With a strong commitment to the spread of space related science to the public, he has contributed to the organization of numerous conferences and activities aimed at bringing space down to earth. Matched only by his love for badminton, his interest in the issues currently facing the space sector drove him to delve into the world of science communication.