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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

John Komar

P.Eng, MEng

Executive Director

Biography

John directs all aspects of the ACE business. In the frontier years of ACE, he led and was responsible for the final design, build, completion and startup of the $100 million-plus project. He directs the business plan and financial management of ACE, including key partnership negotiations and relationships. In addition to directing the business, he is currently leading a $20 million-plus expansion of ACE aerodynamics, acoustics and autonomous vehicle technologies.

John works to grow, diversify and foster new opportunities and market segments for ACE and strengthen ACE’s utilization for product commercialization, diversification, education, research and the local community engagement. He has been employed in the automotive/testing industry since 1981. Prior to joining Ontario Tech University, he worked for General Motors and has extensive and diverse experience in manufacturing engineering from components to final assembly. His international experience includes stints in the U.S., Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil and Argentina. He brings this breadth of experience to our clients, helping develop testing procedures that deliver solutions for our customers.

John has won a number of awards and has authored, and continues to contribute, technical research papers on a variety of topics, including automotive research and development. He is a graduate of Kettering University in Flint, Michigan and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario where he earned a Master of Mechanical Engineering (MEng) degree.