Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC)
National Member of RASC
As a National Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and a decendent of slaves taken from the Igbo people in Nigeria, I have decided to join the RASC's Workgroup, the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee, which currently has 36 members (January 7, 2026). My request to join the workgroup is pending.
Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (2000)
Retired Defence Scientist at Defence R&D Canada
Employed by Defence R&D Canada (DRDC), formerly known as Defence Research Establishment Atlantic (DREA), my colleagues in the United States nominated me for Fellowship in 2000. This article was published online by my employer on November 22, 2000.
During my time at DRDC/DREA (1986-2012), I was a member of the Employment Equity Committee, and subsequently appointed Staff Officer Employment Equity. The most important action I initiated was to invite the late Mi'kmaw elder and author Daniel Paul to DREA to give a talk on his book "We Were Not The Savages."
International Recognition Highlight
Invited by the Institute of Acoustics in the UK to present a paper on sonar transducers as the representative for North America at Sonar Transducers '95 in Birmingham. The paper was written by myself and my American colleague Jan Lindberg and published in the Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics, Vol. 17, Part 3 (1995).
General Science Writing and Science Outreach
General Science Articles
I have written several papers outside of my academic field of solid state physics, and career fields of aerodynamics, materials science, and sonar transduction materials, transducers, and underwater calibration techniques. For example, bird acoustics, hurricanes, and marine mammals.
Outreach
In 1993 I was presented with an award recognizing several years of contributions to the science education of elementary school students in the school board where my wife was a teacher and principal.
Serving My Country
Black Family Soldiers
Following in the footsteps of my late father Francis "Corkey" Jones and late uncle Robert "Buddy" Jones, I served three years in the Canadian Armed Forces. Both fought in the Korean War and Buddy also fought as an infantryman in the Second World War.
My posting was to C.F.B. Cold Lake in Alberta. I returned to university after 3 years and eventually found my way back to the Department of National Defence, but this time as a civilian research scientist.
Geneology
My Uncle Buddy was well-known in Canada's Black community for his research on slavery, the Underground Railroad, and our family roots. Through DNA testing, my daughters discovered that our family's ancestors were originally from Nigeria. These two women, a postdoc with the University of Northern British Columbia, and a Ph.D. candidate at Dalhousie University, are carrying on our family history.
Long-time Volunteer
A Family Tradition
Both of my late parents were long-time volunteers with organizations like the Civitan Club and Veterans, and at women's shelters. I have carried on that family tradition starting with the Nova Scotia Children's Wish Foundation, then the Hants County Exhibition (oldest agricultural fair in North America -260 years), and more recently, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.