Brigette Oakes spends her days leading teams that build engines to launch rockets and spacecraft systems that have to work the first time, every time. She’s held senior roles at SpaceX and Relativity Space, and is now VP of Engineering at Firefly Aerospace, where her teams helped deliver the first commercial lunar landing earlier this year.

So when Brigette told the Communitech Breakfast audience on Thursday that the toughest questions she faces often come from her four-and five-year-olds, the room laughed and then listened.

Those questions are constant and often impossible to answer in a single sitting. For Brigette, they’re a reminder that curiosity is just as much of a way of life as it is a part of her job, and the same force that drives some of the boldest innovations in tech. This is the value of a physics mindset, a way of thinking built on curiosity, persistence and problem-solving.

Meet the minds who solve the impossible

The conversation was moderated by Emily Petroff, Director of External Relations at Perimeter Institute. Emily has managed a 70-person international collaboration building radio telescopes across North America to study fast radio bursts. Today, she connects researchers with partners in government, academia and industry to turn big science ideas into reality.

Joining Brigette on the panel was David Louapre, an AI scientist and educator at Hugging Face and one of the internet’s most popular science communicators. They were both in Waterloo Region for Perimeter Institute’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

David has worked on quantum gravity at the Perimeter Institute, led machine-learning programs at Saint-Gobain, and developed generative AI for Ubisoft. His YouTube channel, Science Étonnante, has more than 1.4 million subscribers who tune in to explore complex science topics made accessible and fun.

Curiosity in action

Emily opened by asking how the speakers’ physics backgrounds influence the way they work today. Brigette said that solving problems feels instinctive. When faced with a challenge, she starts by asking questions until the first step forward becomes clear.

David said the most valuable skill physicists bring to industry is the ability to teach themselves quickly. Each new challenge builds the capacity to learn faster.

Both speakers showed how a physics mindset goes beyond the lab. It can help teams think critically, experiment quickly and keep momentum even when the problems are complex.

Brigette also shared how curiosity drove the development of Firefly’s lunar landing program. The lander had to autonomously choose a safe landing spot. Her team tested navigation methods using radio, lasers and vision systems, even running experiments in farm fields and using tractors to simulate landing conditions.

She also spoke about bridging her own knowledge gaps while leading multidisciplinary teams across electrical, avionics, software and propulsion. She invited subject matter experts to teach her in an informal lunch session and asked as many questions as she could. The more she asked, the more her team wanted to contribute. Firefly’s culture encourages this kind of learning, even giving battery packs playful names like “juice box.”

How great minds stay in orbit

Emily also asked how physicists keep their energy up and recharge outside of work.

Brigette said she protects her evenings for family time, putting her phone away and leaning into the questions her kids ask. That time reminds her why the hard work matters. 

David said that spending time with his family and playing music helps him stay balanced and return to technical problems with fresh ideas.

Keep asking, keep building

The panel closed with the message that you don’t have to know the answer right away. The value lies in staying curious and persistent. 

David said that adopting a physics mindset by staying curious and experimenting until you find a solution makes teams faster and more adaptable, which can be an edge in tech… where challenges never stop coming.

Stay curious! Explore upcoming events and meet others building in Waterloo Region. Connect with our community at Communitech.