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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 Industry Canada has given notice that it isn't going to allow an irritating technicality like a World Trade Organization (WTO) judgement get in the way of its technology development policies. While Canada's appeal of a recent WTO ruling on its subsidies to the aerospace sector is being heard in Geneva, Technology Partnerships Canada announced the largest package of assistance in its history to Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) (link to item). The awarding of $154.8 million in repayable loans to P&WC follows the rationale that the engine being developed by the company is for a different type of aircraft than the one under scrutiny by the WTO. The differences between a regional jet and a corporate jet may seem like hairsplitting, but government officials are confident they're sufficient to justify the funding. The influence of the aerospace industry on government policy formulation also shouldn't be underestimated. The sector employs thousands of workers and its healthy exports provide Canada with prestige and a high profile. Some argue that Canada should simply learn how to hide its aerospace subsidies better. Others contend that TPC could be better employed as an assistance vehicle for emerging sectors like new media. Whatever the outcome in Geneva, it's clear the Liberal government has some serious thinking to do on the issue. Global trade is rapidly expanding and national policies must keep pace to remain effective.
FEATURE REPORTS...
RESEARCH BRIEFS
Newbridge acquiring Stanford to boost wireless capability Newbridge Networks Corp is bolstering its broadband wireless technology portfolio with the proposed acquisition of Sunnyvale CA-based Stanford Telecommunications Inc. The US$490-million price will have a net cost of $280 million once Newbridge divests certain operations to third parties. It will retain key units such as the wireless broadband and products group, the telecommunications components products group and the satellite personal communications group. Newbridge's Sunnyvale-based wireless development team will become the Kanata ON-firm's centre of excellence for broadband wireless technologies, including development of multiple access wireless modems. Stanford has more than 1,000 employees situated at various locations throughout the US. The deal is expected to close by November and is conditional upon several factors, including a definitive agreement for the sale of operations not being acquired by Newbridge....
IBM makes $7-million in-kind donation to Univ of Ottawa IBM Canada Ltd has made its largest donation to a university under the Ontario government's Access To Opportunities Program (ATOP) with a $7-million, in-kind contribution of e-business software to the Univ of Ottawa. ATOP will match the donation with cash as part of its mandate to increase enrolment in computer and engineering studies, which will primarily benefit the university's School of Information Technology and Engineering. IBM will provide unlimited copies of its VisualAge object-oriented software programming, as well as programs for extracting information from large blocks of data. Lotus programs will be offered on a trial basis. In the longer term, researchers from U of O and IBM will collaborate on specific projects, and IBM plans a recruitment program of graduates from the university's IT programs. ATOP's funding was recently extended by $78 million in the Ontario's proposed Budget, which will now be ratified following the election victory of the governing Tories (R$, May 12/99)....
Nortel and ITU back African centres of excellence in telecom Nortel Networks Corp, the International Telecommunication Union and the Acadia Initiative of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have teamed to develop two telecommunications centres of excellence in Nairobi, Kenya and Dakar, Senegal for launch later this year. The ITU African Centres of Excellence will focus on human resources development for the sector and will serve all nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Nortel will provide US$1.4 million of the projected $4 million, three-year costs and intends to be the principal private sector partner in the initiatives. The cash and in-kind contributions include tools and training materials that will help solve business management issues, and assist senior executive programs including spectrum management, and technology awareness programs....
UWO enters collabration with CRS Robotics The Univ of Western Ontario has purchased $500,000 worth of robotic equipment and software from CRS Robotics Corp under its education incentive program to equip its robotics laboratories. The agreement will also see UWO help the Burlington ON-based firm commercialize its automation technologies while offering additional technology programs to its students....
PERSONALITIES Dr Michael Smith has been named as this year's recipient of the Royal Bank Award for his trail blazing research as a biochemist and molecular biologist. The award has a $125,000 cash value and comes with a companion grant of $125,000 which Smith can direct to a designated charity. A frequent public speaker, he has used his high public profile to encourage increased research funding in Canada. A native of Blackpool UK, Smith was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in chemistry, an honour he shared with Dr Kary Mullis. Following his Nobel Prize, he donated half of the proceeds to the Schizophrenia Society of Canada and the affiliated Canadian Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia, and by establishing an endowment fund. Smith has had a long and illustrious research career that began as a professor in the department of biochemistry at the Univ of British Columbia, and as a medical research associate of the Medical Research Council. More recently, he was the founding director of the Genome Sequencing Centre at the BC Cancer Research Centre. Smith was chosen to receive the Royal Bank Award by a selection committee chaired by Univ of Waterloo president Dr David Johnston.... Dr Harold Jennings has been chosen as the gold medal award winner of The Professional Institute. Jennings, the principal research officer at the National Research Council's Institute for Biological Sciences, was chosen in the category of pure and applied science as an example of an outstanding public services professional. His research has contributed to the commercialization of synthetic glycoconjugate technology, for use in fighting group B meningococcal bacteria. Jenning's work has also played a role in the creation of BioChem Pharma Inc, Canada's largest biotechnology company, and establishment of several major vaccine development projects. The NRC received the largest licensing fee in its history ($1 million) as a result of his activities. The award was presented to Jennings at a June 14 ceremony in Ottawa….
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