Ronald P. Podhorodeski

* 06.12.1961

The following obituary was kindly submitted by Scott Nokleby.

We thank the colleague for sharing these precious memories and historic insights for the whole IFToMM community.

It is with great sadness that I share the passing of Ronald Podhorodeski. Ron received his MSc degree from the University of Manitoba in 1985 and his PhD degree from the University of Toronto in 1990. He then joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria where he stayed his entire career. Ron was an award-winning professor who was adored by his students. I had the distinct pleasure of being taught by Ron at the undergraduate level as well as being supervised by him for both my MASc and PhD degrees. Ron was without a doubt one of the best professors I have had the privilege of learning from. I could not have asked for a better teacher, wonderful mentor, and a good friend. Ron made numerous contributions to the field of advanced robot kinematics, including in the areas of redundant manipulators and parallel mechanisms. His easy-going personality and friendliness made him numerous friends in the mechanisms and robotics community from around the world. Ron was one of the founding members of the revamped Canadian Committee for the Theory of Machines and Mechanisms (CCToMM). Ron was a strong supporter of CCToMM having served many roles within CCToMM including as its Treasurer as well as its President. Ron’s distinguished career was tragically cut short due to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which he had been living with since his early twenties. He is predeceased by his wife Marilyn Kowlachuk and survived by their daughter Anna. He will be deeply missed. Scott Nokleby

×
Upcoming Events

PARALLEL 2026

18.11.2026

World Parallel is the flagship technical meeting dedicated to parallel kinematic mechanisms (PKMs) and…

CCMMS 2026

04.12.2026

The 25th IFToMM China International Conference on Mechanism and Machine Science & Engineering (IFToMM…

IPRoMM 2026

20.12.2026

Industrial Problems on Machines and Mechanisms (IPRoMM) was initiated in 1986 as a national-level…

D-A-CH2027

11.02.2027

Germany, Austria and Switzerland have traditionally always taken an active role at all levels…

HMDS 2027

30.03.2027

The 2nd International Symposium on Heterogeneous and Multi-Domain Systems (HMDS 2027) provides an international…
Deadlines to keep in mind

HMDS 2027

15.11.2026

Deadline for abstract submission

PARALLEL 2026

17.11.2026

Deadline for regular registration

ICG 2027

20.11.2026

Deadline for abstract submission

MeTrApp 2027

25.11.2026

Decision on abstract submission

CableCon 2027

01.12.2026

Start of full paper submission