{"id":43449,"date":"2026-06-15T11:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T15:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/engineering-design\/?post_type=cu_story&p=43449"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:29:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:29:46","slug":"celebrating-50-years-of-impact-professor-jim-wights-legacy-at-carleton","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/engineering-design\/story\/celebrating-50-years-of-impact-professor-jim-wights-legacy-at-carleton\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating 50 Years of Impact: Professor Jim Wight\u2019s Legacy at Carleton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Celebrating 50 Years of Impact: Professor Jim Wight\u2019s Legacy at Carleton\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Story<\/em> by Alejandra Fernandez<\/em>, video by Nicholas Arcuri<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After five decades at Carleton University, Department of Electronics Chancellor\u2019s Professor Jim Wight still walks into the classroom with the same energy that first brought him to Ottawa in the early 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wight\u2019s career spans from training generations of engineers and helping to shape the aerospace program to launching multiple successful startups, reflecting the evolution of the Canadian technology sector and the long-lasting value of hands-on learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI come here and do my daily workout,\u201d he says of teaching. \u201cIt\u2019s a mental workout.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journey shaped by opportunity<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wight\u2019s path to Carleton began in Calgary, where, during his undergrad, professors encouraged him to consider a relatively new engineering school in Ottawa. At the time, the city was emerging as a hub for telecommunications and research, with institutions like Bell-Northern Research and the Communications Research Centre offering rare access to industry, government and academia in one place.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially planning to stay only a few years before pursuing a PhD in the United States, Wight quickly realized the opportunities in Ottawa were unmatched.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the run of the private sector, government and the university,\u201d he says. \u201cSomewhere else, I would have just been a grad student in a lab.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stayed, completed his doctorate and joined Carleton as a professor in 1976.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building bridges between the classroom and industry<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his career, Wight has prioritized connecting students with real-world experience. Long before co-op programs became standard, he connected graduate students directly with companies across Ottawa.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He describes it as a \u201cwin-win-win\u201d model: students gain experience, companies assess potential hires and universities strengthen industry ties. That approach also helped him grow one of the largest graduate research groups in his field, with students contributing to active projects in telecommunications, satellite systems and radar technologies.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n