Dr. Yang Gao

PhD, PEng, FCAE, FEIC, FION, FRIN, FIAG

Affiliations

Professor

Schulich School of Engineering, Department of Geomatics Engineering

Contact information

ygao@ucalgary.ca

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 220-6174

Location

Office: Engineering Building, ENE 225

For media enquiries, contact

Joe McFarland
Media Relations and Communications Specialist

Cell: +1.403.671.2710
Email: Joe.Mcfarland@ucalgary.ca

Background

Credentials

Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), 2024

Fellow, Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), 2023

Fellow, UK Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), 2023

Fellow, US Institute of Navigation (ION), 2020

Fellow, International Association of Geodesy (IAG), 2007

PEng., Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), 1997

Educational Background

PhD. University of Calgary,

M.Sc. Wuhan University,

B.Sc. Wuhan University ,

Biography

Dr. Yang Gao is a Professor and Associate Head (Research & Graduate Studies) in the Department of Geomatics Engineering at the University of Calgary, Canada. His research focuses on high-precision positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and other enabling sensors.

Before joining the University of Calgary as an Assistant Professor in 1998, Dr. Gao was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and subsequently held several research and management positions at Pulsearch Navigation Systems Inc. and Position Inc., including Research Scientist, Manager of GPS Research and Development, and Manager of Asia-Pacific.

Dr. Gao is an internationally recognized expert in satellite navigation whose research has made significant contributions to the advancement of high-precision positioning and navigation technologies and their wide range applications. He has authored or co-authored more than 350 journal and conference papers and holds several patents. He has supervised more than 50 PhD and MSc students, along with numerous postdoctoral fellows, visiting PhD students and scholars. He has also been actively involved in transferring research innovations to industry through technology commercialization, including the establishment of two start-up companies.

Dr. Gao's research excellence, professional leadership, and contributions to the engineering and geomatics communities have been recognized through numerous national and international honours, including the Thurlow Award from the U.S. Institute of Navigation (ION), the Geomatica Award from the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG), and the Research Excellence Summit Award from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), the U.S. Institute of Navigation (ION), the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), and the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). He currently serves as President of the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG).

Research

Areas of Research

GPS, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), High-Precision GNSS (PPP, RTK, PPP-RTK), Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), Multi-Sensor Systems

Participation in university strategic initiatives

New Earth Space Technologies (2016-2021)

Courses

Course number	Course title	Semester
ENGO 465	Satellite Positioning	Winter 2027
ENGO 563	Data Analysis in Engineering	Fall 2026
ENGO 629	Advanced Estimation Methods & Analysis
ENGO 697	Directed Studies

Awards

Arch Award, University of Calgary Alumni Association. 2026
Honorary Professorship, Chang'An University. 2026
Geomatica Award, Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG). 2025
Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). 2024
Schulich Graduate Supervision Excellence Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2023
ASTech Award Winner for Innovation in Aerospace, Alberta Science and Technology Foundation (ASTech). 2023
ASTech Award finalist for Researcher of the Year, Alberta Science and Technology Foundation (ASTech). 2023
Fellow, UK Royal Institute of Navigation, for exceptional international leadership and significant educational impact in the field of high-performance PNT. 2023
Fellow, Engineering Institute of Canada, https://eic-ici.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-Fellow-Citation-Gao.pdf. 2023
Schulich Research Excellence Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2023
Geomatics Department Teaching Excellence Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2021
Fellow, US Institute of Navigation, for significant contribution to the development, dissemination and commercialization of high-precision GNSS technologies; and for significant educational and training impact, https://www.ion.org/awards/2020-ionfellow-Gao.cfm. 2020
Teaching Achievement Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2020
Teaching Achievement Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2019
Geomatics Department Research Excellence Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2019
First Prize Best Paper Award, 2019 Ubiquitous Positioning Indoor Navigation and Location Based Service (UPINLBS), Beijing, China. 2019
Research Excellence Summit Award, The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), https://www.apega.ca/summit-awards/recipients/2018/research-excellence. 2018
Research Achievement Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2018
Thomas L. Thurlow Award, US Institute of Navigation, for significant and sustained contributions and leadership in the development and application of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and high-precision GNSS technology, https://www.ion.org/awards/2017-Thurlow.cfm. 2017
Research Achievement Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2017
Teaching Achievement Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. 2017

Publications

Google Scholar