Dr. Peter Carlisle Hughes

In Memoriam

Jan 17, 2023

By Dr. Roderick Tennyson

Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto

I have known Peter since he first came to the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) as a graduate student under the mentorship of Professor Ben Etkin.

It was clear at that time his interest was in satellite dynamics, where he quickly solved a control problem with one of the Canadian satellites, for which he later received an award.

Peter was a gifted mathematician, which was evident when he was in high school. He told me a story about being in a math class and the teacher was having trouble with some math equations. Peter put up his hand and explained to the teacher where he had made a mistake.

His skill at math was recognized by the school principal who asked Peter to teach a math class when they were short of teachers. In Peter’s memoir we learn that his high school teaching obligations caused him to be two weeks late in registering in Engineering Science!

Peter was very versatile and could solve problems once he formulated a model. For example, Prof Hansen of UTIAS and I had the good fortune to have an experiment flown on a NASA satellite for 5 years. It had sensors on it and we had a lot of test data to analyse. In talking with Peter one day about this experiment, I mentioned that it would be very valuable to have a predictive model. Peter said he would look at the problem and I gave him the satellite orbital coordinates. In about a week’s time Peter came to my office with all the predictive graphs and said these should solve our problem. When we plotted the test data the correlation with his predictions was spot on!

Peter established an outstanding research program in satellite dynamics and control as well as robotics. Peter achieved international recognition and awards for his seminal papers and text books, used extensively around the world in many institutions. Peter and his research team of graduate students put UTIAS on the world map of top research centers specializing in satellite dynamics and control.

His contributions to Canada’s space program and the design of the Canada Arm were critical to Canada’s success to day, and cannot be overstated!

Peter and I used to meet several times a year for lunch at Scadabush, an Italian restaurant north of Hwy 7. Later Prof James DeLaurier joined us and we had lively discussions on academia, various research problems that should be looked at and the memories we shared at the Institute. During one meeting before James joined us, Peter and I were lamenting the loss of so much knowledge and experience we had accumulated and how it should be shared with young people who aspired to an academic career. We decided to write a joint book which we titled “so you want to be a professor”. About 10 days later, Peter sent me chapter one!

Peter was a prolific writer and very skilled in syntax, grammar and proper writing styles. When the book was finished I estimate that Peter wrote about 80% of it.

Peter was also a business man. He obtained an MBA from York University and later created a program combining business and engineering. He also ventured into the business world by creating Dynacon which focussed on space projects and applications of space technology to other projects, such as the Canada Arm. Dynacon’s contributions to the Canadian space program were invaluable. When Peter developed an interest in any project, he went all in. He became an expert and this was true in business. His business knowledge and financial abilities were outstanding. As an example, a few years ago I hired Peter to develop business models for my own company. No need to hire a consultant, we had Peter!

In conclusion, Peter can be described as a Renaissance Man: a person who has wide interests and is expert in several areas.

Peter was an intellectual, scholar, engineer, business man, with expert knowledge of classical music and literature, to name a few.

His legacy resides with his wonderful wife and children who are very talented, the many friends around the world who know him and his work, his graduate students and the many seminal research papers and text books he has written and his contributions to the Canadian space program.

Peter was a gift to the Aerospace Institute and the legacy of his achievements will define the institute for many years. Peter will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Darlene's Eulogy

Good afternoon and thank you for coming. I’m Peter’s third daughter, Darlene.

EQUATION VS. EMOTION

If one thinks of a polarized spectrum with equations at one end and emotions at the other, my father liked living solidly in the logical and ruled-based world of equations. He was a linear thinker. Somebody who proudly announced that “equations were sexy”, and that he could not grasp the value people placed on a diamond when the crystallized hoarfrost on a winter ledge was infinitely more beautiful, more unique and fleeting. Yes, he also had the language of a poet. Complicated guy.

But insofar as my father’s mind sailed through the world of mathematical constructs; he struggled through a world of human beings: we’re inherently fallible; emotionally messy; and children, so much more so.

He was not one for small talk, but he always loved to spend time with people who could hold a cocktail in one hand and move a backgammon or chess piece in the other. Or with people who have a sense of humour and high IQ. He certainly had both in spades.

HARD TO RELATE

It was hard to relate to him as a child. One time when he had a business meeting in New York, I asked if I could go with him to visit a friend from Indiana. We travelled together by car – the longest amount of time I ever spent alone with him – and when the Barbra Streisand eight-track tape ended, I grappled with how to fill the silence.

How many raindrops are falling on the windshield? I suddenly asked.

“Over what period of time”? he responded.

He started to calculate – out loud – things like terminal velocity, the area and curvature of the windshield, the approximate diameter and shape of these spherical drops and so on. We drove for miles, my father in his world and I in mine, until he pronounced his answer, which I’m sure included a plus or minus percentage of accuracy. My 10-year-old self responded, “yeah, that sounds about right”.

BENEFITS

His logical way of being in the world had its benefits. We instinctively knew whether to ask my mother or my father for permission to do something, knowing oftentimes that my father would be more amenable if we could prove our case. We were at our cottage on Maple Lake when I asked if I could swim its length. My mother immediately said “no”, thinking it was too far and dangerous for a young girl, whereas my father asked if I knew how long the lake was. When I admitted I didn’t, he told me the local swimming pool was 25 meters and that the lake was about ~3 km long, so I had to do the math. When I presented him with my calculation and told him I thought I could do it, not only did he agree to let me try, but he canoed beside me for hours with my sister, Catherine, until I stood in exhaustion and triumph on the other side.

I experienced my father being proud of me that night. I also learned something that I’ve used many times in my adult life: that I can calculate my own ability to succeed.

ENTER JOANNE

I can’t speak about our father’s life without talking about the other human responsible for our existence. Where my mother is concerned, my father’s feelings were far from mathematical. She WAS the equation in his life where sexy and emotion intersect. He was devoted to her and loved by her.

Some people might joke about having enough kids to field a hockey or soccer team. My father was delighted he had enough to field a bridge table, with one to spare, and we all learned the game as soon as we could see over a kitchen table. My father used the excuse of Prince Charles’ and Diana’s wedding to stay up playing bridge with my sister Caralee, Uncle Moe, and me for 8 hours straight. But when the ceremonies began at 4 am, at which time my mother and aunt woke up to watch the festivities with us, we all promptly went to bed.

My mother also liked to play bridge, and this shared interest gave them many hours of enjoyment in their retirement years and led them to meet a wonderful group of friends and neighbours.

MUSIC

One of the most soft and beautiful aspects of my father was his love of music. He taught himself piano, and in the evenings, he would often play and sing the music and hymns of his youth. As children, we would watch the romance of our parents play out in the front seat of the station wagon as they sang and harmonized old country songs together. When he sang and played, a vulnerability emerged in my father that gave our family an emotional language for expression and connection that we still cherish to this day.

Eulogy for Dad

Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming and supporting my Mom and our family. I specifically want to thank Gabriele D’Eleteurio, Rod Tennyson, Grant Harrington, and my sister Darlene for providing such nice tributes.

My Dad married his high school sweetheart Joanne in 1959, and over the next 12 years they had four children. Growing up as an only child, my dad didn't know much about parenting four children. As proficient as he was in his professional life, he had his share of struggle on the family front. So he relied on what he knew – teaching. Some of my earliest and best memories of my dad are when he was teaching me something, or at least trying to teach me something.

When my dad was in hospice, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him, and we recounted some of the more memorable teaching moments from my youth.

My dad read books to us from the time we could sit up. When we were young at the old cottage, he kept us entertained with each special voice of the characters in Winnie the Pooh, my favourite was his spot-on Piglet impression.

Anytime we had a problem or question in Math he immediately stopped his work and tutored us. This usually took much longer than we wanted, but we persevered, as we knew ‘the process’ would always lead to improved results.

I fondly reminded him of the night at the cottage before sunset, as he patiently encouraged me to keep trying to get up on one waterski. Fall after fall. No spotter. I’m not even sure I had a life jacket on, but I learned to ski that day.

My favourite ‘teaching’ story of my Dad was at our Cherry Blossom house when I was 10. My Dad would try to help me become a better hockey player by using diagrams on his desk.

As I walked into his study for our hockey talk, the time of my arrival startled him. He didn’t want me to see that he was smoking, so he put a bunch of papers over his glass ashtray. During his blue marker arrow descriptions of best forechecking angles, his desk erupted in fire! No joke.

He stomped it out with his bare hands, and for those who think hands can’t stomp, hey did that day.

The best part, as I was awkwardly laughing, was my Dad yelling ‘How the hell did that happen’?

There were some years in my adulthood, where I didn't spend a lot of time with my dad. But we always shared a love of hockey. When I played rep hockey, my dad drove me to rinks all over Ontario.

As adults, we went to several hockey games together, including a Canada Cup game and a World Junior game. But as smart as my dad was, right up until the end, he somehow remained a Leafs fan.

Anyone who spent time with my Dad knew he was a proud and adamant atheist. For my Dad, arguing religion with anyone who would dare to engage, was a blood sport.

But when I was a kid at the cottage, after my Dad and my Uncle Moe had a few late night drinks, you could hear them swimming in the dark singing ‘Lord Help Me Jesus’ by Kris Kristofferson from anywhere on the lake. His love of music always out weighed philosophical beliefs, and he passed the love of music to us, which we all still rely on and enjoy to this day.

These last few months, my Dad and I shared countless stories filled with laughter, and some tears. During this period, I reflected on how my Dad positively impacted and influenced his children.

At the forefront was my Dad’s integrity, loyalty and work ethic. My Dad always said ‘you can go a long way with intelligence, but you can’t go anywhere without working hard.’

He also had a wonderful sense of humour. I think 90% of my humour around my Dad was based on making fun of him, but he always laughed at it anyway.

My Dad loved a good party, especially in his younger years - a trait I believe he may have passed on to a few of his children. He enjoyed life by playing games such as Bridge, Chess and Backgammon, and he would play them all night as long as someone would stay up with him. When my friends were over at our Rebecca Court house back in high school, and perhaps before we were of drinking age, my Dad made a new house rule: ‘You guys can drink beer as much as you want’, the one caveat, ‘You have to play Bridge with me’. He even ‘put up’ with our rock music, but probably not without comment.

My Dad loved to travel, sharing many wonderful memories with his children and many more with my Mom. In his earlier years he loved to canoe and sail, methodically learning about everything there was to know about being a good captain, and probably more so about wind dynamics.

Our Dad faithfully provided for and loved our mother deeply, and he always supported his kids throughout the years, no matter how our relationships ebbed and flowed. He always looked forward to and enjoyed the time he spent with his children, grandchildren and great-grand children.

The world may be a little quieter now without my Dad, but Mom, at family dinners, you may finally have the chance to finish a sentence.

Dad, I will miss you dearly.

Love,

David

* * * * * * * * * *

Dr. Peter Carlisle Hughes

June 5, 1940 - January 5, 2023

It is with profound sadness that the family of Dr. Peter Carlisle Hughes announces his passing on January 5, 2023, after a short battle with liver cancer. Peter died peacefully, surrounded by his family, at Margaret Bahen Hospice in Newmarket.

Peter will be greatly missed by Joanne (née Stewart), his partner in life and marriage for 63 years. Dad will be lovingly remembered by his four children Catherine, Caralee, Darlene (Nathalie) and David (Andrea); his grandchildren Courtney (Buzz), Brendon, Emily, Sarah, Jonathan, Kaelan, Anika and Elliot, and great-grandchildren, William and Jonathan.

Peter was born in St. Catharines and raised in Espanola, Ontario, the only child of the late David Duncan Hughes (d. 1963) and Annie Edith Lenore Carlisle (d. 1985).

Peter and Joanne raised their family in Thornhill, moving north to Aurora where they spent the past 28 years. Many memories were made with friends and family at the cottage on Maple Lake in Haliburton. Peter had a passion for travel, music, bridge, chess, and backgammon, and loved watching hockey with his children and grandchildren. He will be remembered by many for his wry sense of humour and his penchant for turning any subject into a debate.

Peter graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA.Sc. in Engineering Science in 1962, and completed his MA.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering in 1963, followed by his PhD in Aerospace Engineering in 1966. In 1996, Peter earned his MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and four years later was a Founding Director of the Jeffrey Skoll BASc/MBA Program at the University of Toronto.

Peter was a leader in the field of Aerospace, through his work with University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies and as founder, chairman and CEO of Dynacon Inc. Peter’s significant contributions to Canada’s Space Program included the development of the University of Toronto’s Graduate Program in Spacecraft Dynamics, Control and Robotics; and his contribution to the design of Canadarm from 1975-78, Canadarm2 from 1987-89, and the construction of the MOST satellite from 2000-04.

In 2006, Peter was awarded the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute Alouette Award for outstanding achievement in the field of astronautics, followed in 2007 by the Canadian Space Agency’s John H. Chapman Award, for his tremendous impact on Canadian Space Technology.

Peter is the author of numerous publications including the reference books Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics, 1986, and republished in 2004; Satellites Harming Other Satellites, 1991, and subsequently presented to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva; Dynamics and Controls of Structures in Space II, 1993; Engineers Becoming Managers: From the Classroom to the Boardroom, 2005; and his autobiographical Six Degrees of Freedom, in 2021.

The family invites friends and family to a visitation at the Thompson Funeral Home, 530 Industrial Parkway South, Aurora, on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 from 11 am until time of the Celebration of Life at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Margaret Bahen Hospice in Newmarket or Sunnybrook Hospital.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ThompsonFH-Aurora.com for the Hughes family.