NIGHT OF IDEAS 2026

Philip Ferguson is an Aerospace Systems Engineer and Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Manitoba.  He is the Director of the Space Technology and Advanced Research Lab (STARLab) in the Price Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba and holds the Magellan Aerospace / Price Faculty of Engineering Research Chair in Aerospace Technology.  His research focuses on making aerospace technology more accessible to people in Canada, such as Indigenous communities in the Arctic, empowering them with remote sensing tools that keep them safe and informed as climate change alters their traditional way of life. 

Rockford McKay, an Anishinaabe educator and member of the Berens River First Nation, serves as a Science Facilitator with the Manitoba First Nation School System, bringing extensive STEM experience to support new and veteran teachers. As a knowledge keeper of star teachings, he uses a portable planetarium to share traditional Indigenous astronomy and celestial wayfinding across the province. His background spans classroom science facilitation, regional educational outreach, and contributing as a development team member for Manitoba’s Renewed Provincial Science Curriculum (K–10). Additionally, McKay has shaped educational materials as an author for Pearson's Grade 7 science textbook and an advisor for McGraw-Hill's Grade 10 textbook. He specializes in bridging foundational science with land-based learning and hands-on activities—from using the design process to save Humpty Dumpty in Kindergarten to having students contribute to Canada's first mission of landing a probe on the moon.

McKay also brings technical expertise as a Transport Canada Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) instructor. He has delivered ground school and flight training to hundreds of students and staff to obtain their Transport Canada RPAS drone pilot license, showing how technologies like drones, spatial mapping, and satellite science integrate into school programs. Through workshops, textbook authorship, and mentorship, McKay equips new and veteran teachers with the tools, confidence, and cross-disciplinary strategies to connect modern STEM with traditional ecological knowledge and provincial standards.

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing educational astronomy and science programs for school and public audiences. He has been an informal science educator for more than three decades, working in planetarium and science centre field at The Manitoba Museum’s Planetarium and the Lockhart Planetarium in Winnipeg and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott has a B.Sc. from the University of Manitoba (2004). His work has garnered numerous awards from the Canadian Association of Science Centres, the Canadian Museums Association, and various provincial and local organizations. Scott's astronomical research interests revolve around multi-band photometry of variable stars and measuring asteroid rotation periods and diameters through photometry and occultations. He is a proud father of two young humans and reluctant chief-of-staff to one cat.

Jade is a third year PhD student at the University of Manitoba.  She holds a Bachelors in Science with Honours with a specialization in astrophysics from Queen’s University.  Her research involves creating software to simulate the performance of the Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research (CASTOR), a UV space telescope currently under development by Canada.  Jade leads the Virgo AstroSat UV Large Treasury (VAULT) Survey, which uses Far-UV imaging to examine galaxy evolution in the Virgo galaxy cluster.  She is also fluent in both English and French.