Meet the Team

Peter Laffin, Business Development Director

Peter Laffin is the Business Development Director at NAIT’s Centre for Sensors and System Integration. He works alongside the technical team to develop and manage the delivery of applied research projects in collaboration with local, national and international industry partners.

Peter has a strong technical background in monitoring and measurement, and more than 18 years of industry experience in business development, project management, research and public funding. He has managed multiple teams focused on developing and supporting innovation across a number of industries including energy, water, agriculture, transportation and infrastructure.

Dr. Laura Oritz, Research Associate

Dr. Laura Ortiz is a Research Associate at the centre. She has a B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering, a Ph.D. in Communications and Electronics Engineering and was Assessor of the Council on Accreditation of Engineering Education in Mexico.

Prior to joining NAIT, she held positions at Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures, the Microwave Lab at the University of Alberta and the Microelectronics Lab at Texas A&M University. She is also one of the founders of the Masters in Microelectronics at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico.

Dr. Ortiz has spent over 20 years teaching topics including VLSI design and semiconductors to electronic devices and simulation software, and has published research in the areas of signal processing, microelectronics and radio frequency.

Bob Battle, Senior Technologist

Bob Battle is an electronics engineering technologist with more than 27 years of industry experience in semiconductor development, biosensors, photonics, and the manufacturing of MEMS. Before joining the centre, Bob worked as a field service engineer, equipment engineering technologist and technical consultant for a number of technology companies in North America.

Jared Coulombe, Technologist

Jared Coulombe received his diploma in Nanotechnology Systems from NAIT. Jared is experienced in applied research methodology and design of experiments, with a background in prototype development and systems integration for optical sensors. Jared is trained and experienced with LabVIEW programming and data collection. He is also a trained and certified FLIR thermal camera operator.

Andrew Anderson-Serson, Technologist

Andrew Anderson-Serson graduated from the NAIT Electronics Engineering Technology program in 2012. Before joining the CSSI team, Andrew worked in industry for 5 years in an electronics troubleshooting and repair role, which also allowed him to develop his skills in electronics design and system testing. Since returning to NAIT, Andrew has updated his robotics and control systems knowledge while applying his skills to a variety of research and development projects. Andrew continues to expand his expertise, having recently been involved in a project that required him to learn about analytical chemistry experimental design in support of a client wishing to automate a lab-based process.

Susanna Vital, Research Associate

Susanna Vital received a M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Alberta, and a B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering and a Mechanical Technician Diploma from the Federal University of Technology, Paraná, in Brazil.

Before joining the centre Susanna worked for 8 years in electrical design and firmware development for the commercial and industrial sectors. She is proficient in embedded systems, circuit board design, wireless communications, and antenna design. Susanna is also the recipient of several prestigious awards including the University of Alberta Best Master’s Thesis award and is the author of a patent as well as several research papers and scientific journal articles.

Always eager to learn and explore, Susanna continues to develop her technical expertise and apply her various skills to different projects. She holds herself to a high standard and strives to provide maximum value to our clients in all that she does.

Alex Martinez, Instructor of Electronics Engineering Technology

Alex Martinez is a CSSI Research Associate and an instructor with the NAIT Electronics Engineering Technology program. He has Masters Degrees in Aerospace Vehicle Control Systems and Mechanical Engineering and specializes in embedded systems, communications systems, analog / digital electronics and control systems.

Alex’s recent applied research projects include the design and development of a water supply control system for a residential community, the design of the electronics and instrumentation for a small scale helicopter, the development of a user interface / data management system for the small scale helicopter ground system, and the development of the microelectronics and data acquisition module for an in-line pipeline inspection tool.

Alex has more than 30 years of experience in applied research and instructing.

Franco Dottor, Specialist Research Admin

Franco Dottor is a NAIT Business Graduate with an extensive background in grant administration and accounting.