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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 Although slow in coming, the federal government now has in place a network of S&T advisory bodies to provide a balanced (if not timely) perspective on where science and technology fits into the government's economic and social agenda (link to item and related article). The plethora of committees, councils, task forces and expert panels flesh out an approach which, while promising, still has to be road tested to prove its worth. Perhaps a challenge one of these groups can tackle is the current status and future of nuclear research in Canada. If there's one area of S&T policy that's veered horribly off course, one couldn't find a more sobering example. With repeated budget cuts at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd, programs have been closed down or thrown into disarray. The latest casualty is the Whiteshell Laboratories complex at Pinawa MB, which remains in limbo as government dithers over its fate (link to item). One could debate the political or economic dimensions of Whiteshell, but that would ignore the human injustice many observers say has been perpetrated. Staffing levels have fallen to nearly one quarter of their historical high, ending many careers prematurely or forcing researchers to seek work outside Canada. While no one is blameless in the Whiteshell debacle, Natural Resources Canada seems to be the main culprit. But given its silence on the matter, it's tough to say.
FEATURE REPORTS...
RESEARCH BRIEFS
Mobility Canada issues calls for wireless R&D proposals Mobility Canada is moving on its pledge to spend $6-million over three years for wireless R&D by small- and medium-sized businesses through CANARIE Inc. The call for applications marks the first time CANARIE has held a private sector-financed funding competition, and is part of Mobility Canada's $60-million R&D commitment made earlier this year (R$, May 27/98). Acting as the competition's program director is David Betts, seconded from the Information Technology Association of Canada. Betts worked closely with Mobility Canada to identify potential partners for its R&D program. Projects must reflect themes of interest to the company, and include a shared funding formula. Information meetings will be held across the country in the coming weeks.... In related news, ITAC has announced the formation of a Wireless Council, and Mobility Canada has offered a full-time employee to assist in its formation and operation. The new council has been described as an "ongoing evolutionary process" of merging wireless communications into ITAC's mandate as it deals with the accelerating convergence of various segments of the information industry. To populate the council, ITAC will recruit members from large and small firms, while developing new policy and program initiatives geared to the wireless sector....
De Novo Enzyme receives $550,000 private placement Working Opportunity Fund (WOF) has invested $450,000 in Burnaby BC-based De Novo Enzyme Corp as part of $550,000 private placement. The financing will be used to further develop and test De Novo's lead molecules for treatment of colon, bone and ovarian cancers. The firm, which spun off from Simon Fraser Univ, has genetically engineered a toxic natural plant protein with precision to kill cells while avoiding healthy ones. SFU is a shareholder in the firm, along with WOF, the company's founders and its employees....
Technology Partnerships Canada approves two aerospace loans Technology Partnerships Canada has awarded two loans to key firms within the aerospace sector. The first is a $4.8-million loan to Spar Aerospace Ltd for the development of new satellite communications products, maintaining 175 jobs at the firms's Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue facility. The funds will be devoted to the development of a wide range of components, digital subsystems and antennae, including converters, low noise amplifiers, demultiplexers, steerable Ku-Band antennae and digital beam-forming networks. Somewhat larger is a $6.6-million repayable contribution to Allied Signal Aerospace Canada for the development of new aircraft control systems at its Mississauga facility. The funding is expected to maintain 41 jobs over the three-year development phase of the project, helping AlliedSignal enhance its core product line and move towards products with integrated features. The firm also holds the world product mandate for electronic controllers used in environmental control systems, power management and generation systems....
CRIM endorses DesSecur's identity authentication system The Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montr‚al has evaluated and endorsed a personal identity authentication system developed by DelSecur Canada Inc, using new guidelines for the scientific evaluation of its potential and feasibility. The analog system will now be used with a consortium, subsidized by the European Economic Community and Hitachi, before pilot testing with several international firms for multiple simulations, commercial applications and industrial product design....
PERSONALITIESDr Paul Hough has been appointed VP BIOTECanada where he will be responsible for a variety of advocacy, membership, project and administrative duties. He comes to the Ottawa-based organization after several years as executive director of the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies. Hough graduated with a BSc in metallurgical engineering from Queen's Univ, and obtained a PhD in metallurgy from Imperial College. Work experience includes stints with Alcan Ltd's Alcan Research Centre and the Eldorado Nuclear Research Centre .... TRLabs president and CEO Glen Rainbird has been awarded the Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd Forum Award for leadership in furthering university-industry cooperation in research. The award recognizes Rainbird's success in establishing interdisciplinary and international linkages, and fostering diverse partnerships. The award was presented in Banff at the tri-national assembly of Canada's Corporate Higher Sector Forum, the US Business Higher Education Forum and Japan's Business University Forum.... Allain Caill‚ has been appointed vice-rector for research at the Univ of Montreal. Caill‚ is a specialist in technology transfer and has considerable experience in the management and interaction of universities with funding agencies and the private sector. He received a PhD from McGill Univ and was a post doctoral trainee at the Facult‚ de sciences d'Orsay and College de France.... Jacques Boisvert has been appointed president and CEO of Technilab Pharma Inc, a developer of prescription and generic drugs. Boisvert comes to Technilab from Novopharm, where he served as Quebec GM for three years. He replaces Technilab founder Jean-Guy Sabourin, who is retiring after 24 years as president and CEO. Boisvert has spent 35 years in the drug industry, holding executive positions with Ayerst Laboratories, Squibb Canada, Squibb Pacific, Sterling Canada and Sanofi Winthrop.... Dr Arthur Carty has been appointed to a second five-year term as president of the National Research Council of Canada; a position which includes the responsibilities of CEO and chair of the governing council. Carty's second term at the helm of Canada's premier R&D organization takes effect July/99. A graduate of the Univ of Nottingham, Carty's academic experience includes stints as a professor at Memorial Univ and the Univ of Waterloo, and dean of research of the latter before being appointed to head the NRC in 1994. Since his initial appointment, Carty has been steering the agency through two rounds of Program Review-related budget cuts and fostered a variety of new commercial, academic and financial partnerships. The new term coincides with the NRC's attempt to reinforce its basic research platforms and launch several new initiatives (see lead article).... Ian Affleck has been awarded the BC Science & Technology Award in the New Frontiers in Research category for his work with superconductivity to determine what turns metals or a composite substance into a superconductor. Affleck will receive the award October 22 in Vancouver, adding to a list of honours that include the 1988 Steacie Prize, the 1989 Herzberg Medal and the 1991 Rutherford Medal in Physics. A physics professor at the Univ of British Columbia, he received his masters and PhD from Harvard Univ.... Glenn Fawcett, senior director of advanced systems at Glenayre Electronics' Vancouver facility, has been awarded the BC Science & Technology Award in the Industrial Innovation category. An electrical engineering graduate of the Univ of British Columbia, Fawcett headed the team that developed Glenayre's GL3000 switching software in the mid-1980s, which has achieved dominance in the North American market. In 1993, he oversaw development of the C2000 transmitter network control system, as well as inventing and patenting several concepts and writing portions of the software....
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