Philip Lapp, an aeronautical engineer and physicist, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, June 15, “in recognition of a distinguished career in the Canadian Aerospace Industry.”
Philip Lapp’s contributions to aeronautical, aerospace, and communications science and technology have played a very significant part in Canada’s aerospace industry. He joined de Havilland Aircraft of Canada in the mid1950s and more than a decade later co-founded Spar Aerospace, which developed and built the Canadarm used by the NASA Space Shuttle program.
By the late 1960s, Mr. Lapp had established a successful consulting engineering business which, over the next 37 years, led assignments in such areas as guidance and inertial navigation, anti-aircraft missile defence, infrared detection and optical surveillance, space technology, remote sensing, surveying and mapping, engineering education and human resource planning. A former president of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, Mr. Lapp has helped forge links between industry and the academic world and humanize the engineering profession by evaluating the impact of new designs on society.