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reports and analyses of the forces driving science and technology investment in Canada
editor: Mark Henderson How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson FEATURE REPORTS | RESEARCH BRIEFS | PERSONALITIES How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson, editor, RE$EARCH MONEY With the economic and social dislocation being created by the rapid emergence of new technologies, the meaning of the term 'bridging the gap', has taken on new significance and some urgency. The requirements of knowledge-based industries for new technologies and new financing mechanisms have already resulted in many creative solutions, and the same approach is about to unfold to satisfy the need for human expertise in the software development field (link to story). The Consortium for Software Engineering Research (CSER) is a unique industry-led initiative that is seeking to tackle the growing shortage of Canadian software engineering graduates. Five firms, six universities, the National Research Council and the country's largest granting agency have banded together to match university curricula with the needs of the software industry. Money, staff and single-minded dedication are being employed to bring together two largely independent social spheres (industry and academe) for a single purpose: to generate the software engineering talent necessary to keep Canada competitive. We are only beginning to see the consequences of the explosion in software engineering in every aspect of our social, cultural and working environments. Bridging the gap between education and commerce is an essential step to ensure the benefits are widely felt by all Canadians.
FEATURE REPORTS...
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH SYNCHROTRON LIGHT SOURCE AT
INDUSTRY-LED CONSORTIUM TO ADDRESS CRITICAL SHORTAGE
REVENUE CANADA DISTRIBUTES SR&ED DRAFT GUIDELINES
ABSENT BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: FEDERAL RESPONSE TO IHAC
WORKING VENTURES FACING STIFF PENALTIES
UNIVERISTY OF TORONTO STUDENT
WHITESHELL TASK FORCE SET TO RELEASE REPORT OUTLINING
RESEARCH BRIEFS
AACI heavy oil funding receives $15 million to 2001 Funding for an Alberta-based research consortium developing innovative oil recovery techniques has been renewed for five years until 2001. The AACI (Alberta Department of Energy/Alberta Research Council Core Industry) Research Program has received $15 million þ $5 million each from industry partners and the two government entities þ and will continue to be operated by the Alberta Research Council. The program serves as the core of the Canadian Oil Sands Network for Research and Development (CONRAD) program. A major focus of the heavy oil program will be to link R&D to industry operations in areas such as cold production, gravity drainage and other applications of horizontal wells. AACI has had success with technology supporting steam-assisted gravity drainage, with a number of pilot and commercial projects now underway valued at nearly $1,000 million. The consortium has grown from four to 15 domestic and international industrial partners. Annual industry fees are $75,000, representing 40-to-1 leverage of R&D dollars....
U of T receives $1.9 million environmental space chair The federal government has teamed with the private sector to create a $1.9 million chair at the Univ of Toronto for the development of space-based instruments to measure and track air pollutants on a global scale. The five-year funding package will support chair holder Jim Drummond, a Univ of Toronto physics professor, as well as a tenure-track faculty position, a faculty appointment and several post-doctoral assistants. The chair's initial priority will be to support the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) program with a new instrument to be tested on a US satellite as part of NASA's Earth Observing System project. It will map global distributions of methane and carbon monoxide. Other chair activities include the construction of remote sounding instrumentation. Funding for the chair was provided by NSERC ($730,000); Environment Canada ($540,000); Canadian Space Agency ($300,000); Univ of Toronto ($142,000); COM DEV International ($110,000); and, BOMEM Inc ($80,000)....
Ericsson funds wireless grad program at Univ of Waterloo Ericsson Communications Canada is contributing $1 million over five years to establish a new graduate engineering program in wireless communications at the Univ of Waterloo's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The seed money for the Centre for Wireless Communications will be used to support students in radio engineering and establish the basis for a world class research centre. Ericsson operates an R&D facility in Montreal employing more than 900 engineers and is the 6th largest private sector R&D spender in Canada, according to a preliminary draft of Evert Communications Ltd's upcoming annual listing of Top 100 Corporate Spenders....
Chrysalis receives $2.2M from two venture capital firms Capital Alliance Ventures Inc (CAVI) and Novacap Investments Inc have invested $2.2 million in convertible debentures in Chrysalis Information Technology Inc, an Ottawa-area developer of hardware and software products for workstation, network and Internet security. The early-stage firm specializes in embedded cryptography and integration of cryptographic products and client-server applications. The products are used for central security management and end-user installation to generate and store signature keys required for secure on-line transactions. The CAVI and Novacap funds are part of a $2.5 million investment package....
Biomira's cancer treatment imaging kit fast-tracked Biomira Inc is receiving fast-track treatment for a new imaging agent for the detection of recurrent breast cancer and primary, residual or recurrent ovarian cancer. The Canadian Health Protection Branch granted priority evaluation status for TruScint AD imaging kits following the completion of Phase II clinical trials. The kit allows effective targeting of cancer cells when the patient is scanned using nuclear medicine imaging techniques, allowing for the detection of radiotracer accumulation indicating the sites of cancer. In March, Biomira received FDA approval for Truquant BR, its blood test kit for detecting recurrent breast cancer....
Hemosol to raise $13.2 million in private placement Toronto's Hemosol Inc is proceeding with a private placement through Yorkton Securities Inc for 2.5 million special warrants that will provide $13.2 million for continuing R&D activities. The warrants are priced at $5.30 with an additional 250,000 compensation warrants to be issued to Yorkton. A preliminary prospectus qualifying the distribution of the underlying shares is expected shortly. Hemosol is focused on the development of blood-related proteins, including the development of applications in cell therapy derived from stem cell propagation technology....
IAF BioVac researchers discover new protein Researchers at IAF BioVac Inc, Ste-Foy PQ, have discovered a protein that may hold the potential for developing a new human vaccine against all types of meningococcal infection. The discovery was made by four researchers from the vaccine research unit at Quebec City's Laval Univ Hospital Centre. Researchers use six monoclonal antibodies that recognize the protein, and testing indicates that 95% of the meningococcal strains were detected. The vaccine subsidiary of BioChem Pharma Inc holds the rights to seek global patent protection to produce, commercialize and market vaccines based on the protein. Meningococcal infection is prevalent in the African Sub-Saharan region and is known in North America for its outbreaks among school-aged children.... In other news, BioChem Pharma has received a European patent for 3TC (lamivudine), covering 14 countries and providing patent protection until the year 2010. The drug has now been approved in Canada, the US, Switzerland and Australia. Additional regulatory approvals have been filed around the world....
PERSONALITIES
David Masotti has been appointed Senior VP business development for Spar Aerospace Ltd. The announcement was made at the firm's annual general meeting May 16, when a surprise $5 million quarterly loss was reported on disappointing revenue of $119.6 million. Masotti comes to Spar from Rogers Cablesystems Ltd, where he held various positions including VP technical services and VP business development. He has also worked for Bell-Northern Research and Northern Telecom Ltd in the Ottawa area. Masotti received an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and graduated from Queen's Univ with a BSc in electrical engineering. In his hew position, he will be responsible for Spar's strategic planning and business development and serve on the senior management team....Dr Inge Hansson has been appointed president and CEO of Gas Technology Canada, a centre of excellence for leveraging technology development and technology transfer processes for its member utilities. In addition to serving as president of Hansson Technology Management, he has worked as director of research for Alcan International Ltd, and chief technical officer for Emtech Ltd. Hansson studied at Sweden's Chalmers Univ of Technology where he received a MSC, PhD and DSc.... Dr Bruce Clayman has been re-appointed as VP research and dean of Graduate Studies at Simon Fraser Univ for a five-year term beginning September 1. He has held the positions for 2-1/2 years and 11 years respectively. The condensed matter physicist received a BSC from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a PhD from Cornell Univ. Clayman's personal research interests include super-conductors and olfaction.... William Hutchison has been appointed to the board of directors of Quorum Growth Inc. Hutchison has had a lengthy high technology career and held positions with a number of organizations including CANARIE, the National Advisory Board for S&T and the Ontario Laser and Lightwave Research Institute....
Applied PeR$pectivesBuilding with CCNB-INNOV… Relationships that go a Long Way! CCNB-INNOV, the applied research and development arm of CCNB has adapted its range of services to better meet the unique needs of the regional shipbuilding industry.
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