CASI C.D. Howe Award for Allan Carswell

Dr Carswell, who has been appointed to the Order of Canada, the highest civilian award a Canadian can receive, has recently received several prestigious awards. He was inducted into the University of Toronto Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction, and was also awarded the 2009 Ernst & Young Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which recognises the contribution of business people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

He is an internationally recognised leader in lidar applications, a field in which he has been working since its very inception in the early 1960s. He founded Optech in 1974 to develop commercial systems based on lidar technology. He led and managed the growth of Optech, expanding from its base in atmospheric lidar 36 years ago to its current position as a leading developer and manufacturer of commercial lidar systems for a wide and growing range of applications.