Thomson Cayley

As a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering from Queen's University (April 2026), I am the co-founder of Dextra, where we are developing a wearable hand tracking wristband that reimagines how humans interact with technology.

My technical foundations were built and proven during my 15-month tenure as a Data Scientist at Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). There, I engineered the "Canadian Productivity Monitor" using R and Power BI to automate the ingestion of economic data. By replacing manual narrative synthesis with automated pipelines, I cut reporting turnaround times by over 90%. I also developed complex automation scripts using Python and R to process UN Comtrade data, and built a Python web scraper to provide real-time tracking of geopolitical indicators. This experience taught me how to transform raw, unstructured data into directed analysis that directly guides high-stakes decision-making.

The vision behind Dextra is grounded in hands-on research and engineering. My senior capstone project — a custom deep learning architecture for "EIT Linkband," a low-cost wearable device for non-invasive hand position estimation — laid the technical groundwork for what we are now building. Competing in Major League Hacks' QHacks further sharpened my full-stack execution skills, where I built "Storybook ML" with a React Native frontend and a high-concurrency Python backend integrated with the OpenAI API.

I grew up in Ottawa and have always valued hard work and community. The grit I developed through tree planting and the problem-solving I honed while helping open a fast-paced restaurant remain core to how I operate as a founder.

At Dextra, we believe computer engineering is an opportunity to explore the world through problem solving. I am driven by designing systems and algorithms that push the boundaries of what wearable technology can do — and building a company around that mission.