Innovation.ca | Canada foundation for innovation · 2016-11-22 · Dr. Ragan. He adds that it s no...

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THE GLOBE AND MAIL TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 22 , 2016 SECTION CFI

SPONSOR CONTENT

This content was produced by RandallAnthony Communications, in partnershipwith The Globe and Mail’s advertisingdepartment. The Globe’s editorial

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If you listen to Andrew Pelling, you’llbelieve yourmost creative andwildideas are worth paying attention

to. You may even feel compelled tosubmit them for further investigationin his lab, where biohacking and DIYscience are par for the course. Dr. Pel-ling leads the Laboratory for Biophysi-cal Manipulation at the University ofOttawa, described on its home pageas “an openly curious and exploratoryspace where scientists, engineers andartists work in close quarters.”

“My lab is about ideas,” says Dr.Pelling, who is also Canada ResearchChair in Experimental Cell Mechanics.“The best way to come up with reallyunconventional ideas is by getting awhole bunch of different perspectivesin the same room and saying ‘Askquestions! Be creative!’”

That kind of open-minded approachto research, especially when con-trasted with a more conservativeapproach to research and innovation– where a problem is identified andresearch is done to find a solution – isa unique example of how intrinsicallyresearch and communities are linked.This might just be a missing piece ofthe research and innovation puzzlein Canada.

It’s also what led Dr. Pelling tolaunch pHacktory, a small companythat collects proposals from peoplewith out-of-the-box ideas they wantto test through “experiments in dis-tributed and community-driven street-level research.”

Only the most audacious ideas willbe considered, says Dr. Pelling. “Wewant ideas that are 99 per cent certainto fail. We want to try them anyway,because failure can lead to some ofthe most profound discoveries. Andif they were to work, they could betransformative.”

The notion of making researcha grassroots effort – and inviting

everyone to participate – has earnedDr. Pelling a large fan base. His TEDtalk, where he explains the process ofcreating a human ear from an apple,has garneredwell over amillion views.

It’s also a novel approach to feedingthe innovation pipeline. “There seemsto be this caveat that knowledge isonly valuable if it leads to a billion-dollar enterprise,” says Dr. Pelling.“But if we forget to generate new ideasand new knowledge, then eventuallythe pipeline runs dry.”

With unapologetic curiosity as aguidepost, Dr. Pelling says his lab“generates ideas that just don’t exist atthemoment, but that may have a real-ly disruptive effect down the road.” Hecites his ears-from-apples experimentas an example. Inspired by Little Shopof Horrors, the lab set out to create aman-eating plant, a “miserable failure”in Dr. Pelling’s words. “But during thatprocess we discovered we could use

plants as a biomaterial, and all of asudden we’ve got this biotechnologythat’s insanely cheap and solvesmanyof the problems that come along withcurrent biomaterial strategies.”

Dr. Pelling’s approach to discover-ing game-changing new technologiesis more than great science-fiction-turned-fact. That’s because findingmechanisms for boosting innovationis a pressing question to growing oureconomy, according to ChristopherRagan. He is a McGill University macroeconomist and a member of the Ad-visory Council on Economic Growth,which has been chargedwith pointingleaders and policy-makers to growthpolicies and actions that can addressthe slowing of Canada’s economy.

Innovation is widely recognized asa key driver of productivity growth,which, in turn, is responsible for im-proving living standards over thelong term, he explains. “If you want

to know why we are better off onaverage than our great grandparents,productivity growth and innovationare at the heart of it,” says Dr. Ragan.

Yet Canada’s productivity growth isless than what it used to be, and lessthan that of our competitors, saysDr. Ragan. He adds that it’s no secretthat while Canadians excel in basicresearch and are good at inventingthings, they often come up short inthe next step: turning the idea orinvention into a successful business– and scaling that business up. “In-novation is still a very tough nut tocrack,” says Dr. Ragan.

Even as economists and policy-makers work to answer the difficultquestions around how to improveinnovation, the impact that researchand innovation have on Canadians’quality of life will be the ultimatemeasure of their success. In the broad-est sense, innovation is the desire to

INSIDE

Science and infrastructureCFI 16-19

Environment and sustainabilityCFI 14-15

Entrepreneurship and innovationCFI 12-13

Health and medicineCFI 8-11

Water and food securityCFI 4-7

EXCELLENCEIN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

A CELEBRATIONOF WORLD-CLASSRESEARCHSUPPORTED BYTHE CANADAFOUNDATION FORINNOVATION

20YEARS

ANNIVERSARY

Dr. Andrew Pelling (left), who pioneered the process for turning an apple into a human ear, advocates the importanceof taking creative and wild ideas towards intangible outcomes; the research at Calgary’s Advancing CanadianWastewater Assets facility (right) has a direct impact on the city’s water quality. LEFT, PETER THORNTON; RIGHT, SUPPLIED

make things better and to build ourcommunities.

That’s a tenet that Calgary MayorNaheed Nenshi has embraced. Hesees research and innovation as es-sential tools for serving the com-munity and points to the AdvancingCanadian Wastewater Assets (ACWA)facility, which is a research partner-ship between the city and the Univer-sity of Calgary, as an example. ACWAincludes 3.8 kilometres of naturalized,experimental streams that replicatereal-life water situations and enableone-of-a-kind research into findingbetter ways to treat municipal waste-water for the benefit of human healthand the environment.

“Every community along the BowRiver is responsible for keeping [thewater] healthy. That means being agood neighbour to everyone livingdownstream,” Mr. Nenshi explains.Beyond their commercialization po-tential, the technologies developedat ACWA could have implications thatgo far beyondwater quality in Calgary– they can potentially help to addressthe pressing global issue of access toclean drinking water, he says.

While the ACWA research partner-ship may appear radically differentfrom Dr. Pelling’s approach, the out-comes are strikingly similar: both aregiving rise to valuable new technolo-gies, and both are having an immedi-ate impact on their communities. Theonly difference is the starting point.“What we’re doing at pHacktory iscreating the right conditions to bubbleup innovators en masse, rather thanwaiting for them to randomly ap-pear,” says Dr. Pelling.

Research builds our communities

CFI 2 • SPONSOR CONTENT THE GLOBE AND MAIL • TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 22 , 2016

OPINION

A bold vision from 20 years ago is more relevant than ever

Dr. Gilles Patry is President andCEO of the Canada Foundationfor Innovation

Thecreation of the Canada Foun-dation for Innovation in 1997stemmed from a bold vision to

transform an ailing research system inthis country. Twenty years later, theorganization that turned dilapidated,makeshift labs into world-leadingresearch facilities is more relevantthan ever.

In the late 1990s, the problem wasclear. Canadian researchwas in troublebecause a history of under-investmentin research infrastructure meant ourbest minds were prevented from que-rying the cutting-edge questions thatwould allow them to lead their fields.

Many looked elsewhere. Many left.“Brain drain” became a householdphrase. At the time, I was dean ofengineering at the University of Ot-tawa, and I witnessed an exodus ofour brightest researchers. It was aproblem that had all Canadian uni-versity presidents worried. The talentand reputation of their researcherswastheir biggest selling point. How couldthey compete when their key assetswere heading for the door in droves?

A confluence of political will, fiscalopportunity and dire need broughtto fruition the idea of an organizationdedicated to funding research infra-structure – state-of-the-art equipmentand facilities that researchers neededto think big, reach higher and help ourcountry lead in the new knowledgeera the 21st century promised.

The creation of the CFI by the Gov-ernment of Canada was in itself anexperiment to set Canadian researchon a new path, and it worked! We’renot playing catch-up anymore; we’resetting the pace.

Look at the international scientistswho flock to Dalhousie University’sOcean Tracking Network and theUniversity of Victoria’s underwaterocean network observatory to accessunprecedented information aboutmarine species and insights intopressing issues like climate change.Look also at the burgeoning Toronto-Waterloo corridor, where an incredibleconcentration of research and traininginstitutions and tech companies have

A yellow node containing a power source and Internet hub is loaded onto a ship in Victoria, B.C. The hub is part of Ocean Networks Canada, a systemof hundreds of kilometres of cable attached to a raft of instruments and sensors laid along the ocean floor. The network uses the Internet to broadcastreal-time data on marine life and earthquakes. OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA

a doubt, part of the answer. Researchinfrastructure evolves rapidly. Themachines of today quickly becomeobsolete; better, faster, more power-ful research equipment lets research-ers probe deeper, look further, asktrickier questions and get answersmore quickly. Because, as any scientistwill tell you, each new insight, devel-opment or innovation merely opensa door to the next most compellingquestion. Having the best equipmentto answer the queries of the future isan ongoing effort.

More than that, the young research-ers who will find answers to thosequestions are more globally minded,more connected and collaborative, andmoremobile than ever.We learnedourlesson at the endof the lastmillennium– ifwe don’t provide the opportunitiesour research leaders seek, they willlook abroad. With a new generationof researchers, this might be more ofa risk than ever – all the more reasonto continue to set our sights high andkeep building our hard-won, world-class research enterprise.

In a recent blogpost, Bill Gateswrote “Science is the great giver – andwe’re just at the beginning of whatit can give.” The 20th anniversary ofthe CFI has provided us with an op-portunity to look back at what we’vebuilt and to reflect on the resonanceof that work with Canadians. Whenyou consider where we started, it’simpossible not to feel a great senseof accomplishment for how far ourresearch community has come. Butwhat is truly breathtaking is wherewe can go from here.

made this part of Ontario a hub oftalent and discovery, and an excellentexample of how clusters of capabil-ity and expertise can be engines ofinnovation.

The ultimate measure of our suc-cess, of course, is the difference ourresearch endeavours have made inthe quality of life of Canadians. Thatresearch builds communities is asimple truth we see reflected in ourwork every day, and which is broughtinto focus in this publication throughthe stories and images of Canadianswhose communities have benefitedin some way from research.

While some of our problems of twodecades agomay have been solved, aslew of new challenges replace them.To name a couple: How can we sup-port and position young researchersfor success? And how can we turnour now world-leading research intoinnovation more efficiently andmoreconsistently?

Sustaining our commitment toinvesting in world-leading researchand research infrastructure is, without

When you consider wherewe started, it’s impossiblenot to feel a great sense ofaccomplishment for howfar our research communityhas come. But what is trulybreathtaking is where wecan go from here.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

RESEARCHBUILDS MYCANADIANCOMMUNITY

Jacqueline Mboko looks over the Thames River in London,Ont. She came to Canada from the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo with her family when she was 13 years old andnow works as an interpreter for other Swahili- and French-speaking newcomers. Pathways to Prosperity, a researchpartnership led by nearbyWestern University, looks at waysof providing services to immigrant families like Mboko’s thatwill help them more easily settle into their new home.

CHRISTINNE MUSCHI

RESEARCHBUILDS OURCOMMUNITIESFeaturing stories of howresearch enabled by CFIfunding is touching Canadiansand their communities.

www.sfu.ca/innovates

As Canada’s engaged university, we’re

redefining fuel cell development.

We’re using robotics to help

wheelchair users walk again. We’re

working with NASA to reduce our

water footprint around the globe.

VentureLabs®, Innovation Boulevard,

and RADIUS are just some of the

drivers of real innovation at SFU.

Where real-world challenges become

opportunities for substantial impact.

What’s next? What’s not?

AtSFU,wepreferourwisdomslightlyunconventional.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL • TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 22 , 2016 SPONSOR CONTENT • CFI 3

RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Where research meets innovation and entrepreneurship

DID YOU KNOW?

Laboratory meets playhouse atRyerson University’s Respon-sive Ecologies Lab – a research

centre investigating technological,cultural and social factors surround-ing the emergent Internet of Thingsand housing physical fabricationtools such as 3D printers, a reconfigu-rable multi-touch wall and a host ofelectronic technologies for buildinginteractive sensor-based systems.

This mix of technologies isn’tthe only thing that’s diverse at the20-month-old lab, referred to com-monly as RE/Lab. The researcherswho come to work here hail from awide range of academic disciplines– from biomedical and computerengineering to businessmanagementand professional communication.

Even RE/Lab’s co-founder anddirector, Jason Nolan, works in adiscipline not typically associatedwith technological innovation – heis an associate professor at Ryerson’sSchool of Early Childhood Studies.His research at RE/Lab focuses on ap-plying technology to early childhoodeducation and children with specialneeds through adaptive design.

“We work with faculty, studentsand postdoctoral fellows from dif-ferent disciplines,” says Ali Mazalek,Canada Research Chair in DigitalMedia and Innovation at Ryerson andco-founder and principal investigatorof the RE/Lab. “Our integrated ap-proach means that when everythingis in one space, the various partsof complex technologies are notdesigned in isolation but rather allfeed into each other.”

The concept of the innovation hubisn’t new to Ryerson. The school isalready well known for the DMZ, oneof the country’s largest technologybusiness incubators. Since its launchin 2010, the DMZ has incubatedmorethan 260 startups, which have raiseda total of $206-million in seed fundingand created more than 2,400 jobs.

The DMZ, which is also open toentrepreneurs outside of Ryerson,is one of many innovation hubs orzones at the university. Each of thesehubs feeds into a larger innovationecosystem at Ryerson, says Dr.Mazalek, and all stand to benefitfrom each other’s work and in turnhelp to support Canada’s innovationecosystem.

“As soon as something is emergingat our lab and ready to move to thereal world, it can be moved to oneof our innovation zones, and in turnif a startup in a zone is developingsomething they’ll often partnerwith researchers at the lab to test orimprove the technology,” says Dr.Mazalek, who is also an associateprofessor at Ryerson’s RTA School ofMedia. “There’s a cycle back and forthwith what happens on the researchside and on the entrepreneurshipside, so it’s a nice loop.”

Ryerson’s innovation system ex-tends well beyond the university andincludes partnerships with business,community organizations and alllevels of government. For instance,iBEST is a biomedical research andinnovation partnership betweenRyerson and St. Michael’s Hospitalthat brings together the university’sengineering and science researcherswith biomedical researchers and clini-cians at the hospital, located just afew blocks from the school. Ryersonalso recently expanded part of its sci-ence faculty to the MaRS DiscoveryDistrict, joining educators, research-ers, social scientists, entrepreneursand business experts under one roof.

Usha George, interim vice-pres-ident, research and innovation atRyerson, says innovation has alwaysbeen part of the school’s DNA. Butwhile this aspect of the universityhas grown organically over the years,today Ryerson is taking a moredeliberate and strategic approach toinnovation.

“Right now, we aremaking it moreintentional and focused. We are be-coming an innovation university forthe 21st century,” says Dr. George. “Sowhat does this mean? It means thatwe are expanding our approach anddefinition of the university’s innova-tion ecosystem to build on what we

have today, and adapt in anticipationof tomorrow’s needs.”

With the goal of meeting societalneeds, Ryerson’s innovation eco-system currently falls into three key

areas: faculty-led research and inven-tion, incubation of ideas, processesand products, and conscious effortto develop talent that can make animpact on society.

“Whether they’re studying fashiondesign or chemical engineering, wewant students to have an innovativeand entrepreneurial experience,” shesays. “This is where interdisciplinary

collaboration and our innovationhubs really play an important role.At Ryerson, we are defining anddescribing innovation in a way thatincludes all of us.”

Dr. Ali Mazalek, Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Innovation, is pictured at Ryerson University’s Responsive Ecologies Lab. She uses areconfigurable space that includes interactive tables and a large multi-touch wall that make it easier to explore and understand complex systems. WILLPEMULIS

Visit globeandmail.com/adv/researchandinnovation2016

SINCE IT BEGAN IN

1997THE CANADA FOUNDATION FORINNOVATION HAS FUNDED

9,415PROJECTS AT

147INSTITUTIONS, AND HASAWARDED OVER

$6-billionTO SUPPORT WORLD-CLASSRESEARCH

The 1,800 neuroscience researchers and students behind McGill’s Healthy Brains for Healthy

Lives program are working to transform lifelong, even fatal, diseases and disorders into

treatable conditions.

Through support such as the recent $1.1 million investment from the Canada Foundation

for Innovation’s Cyberinfrastructure Initiative, McGill University is developing the computational

power needed to revolutionize our understanding of complex neural networks – and one day ease

the suffering of the 3.6 million Canadians who are affected by dementia, brain trauma, mental

illness, pain, stroke and other neurological conditions. Learn more at www.mcgill.ca/hbhl

MCGILL: BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN DESERVES THE WORLD’S BEST BRAINS.

THIS IS YOUR BRAINON NEUROSCIENCE


Technology like the SeaCycler, a new oceanographic mooring system with a large suite of sensors capable ofcollecting measurements near the surface, can help Dalhousie University researchers gain a better understandingof issues such as atmospheric gas exchange. SUPPLIED


DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY

Diving into the evidence of a rapidly changing ocean

Humans may be creatures ofthe land – but we are in-creasingly dependent on the

ocean. Oceans determine much ofour weather and climate and aresuper-highways for trade. They haveabsorbed almost half of the carbondioxide released since the IndustrialRevolution, buffering the effects ofclimate change. More than half ofEarth’s oxygen production is due tooceanic phytoplankton. And as ourpopulation grows, pressure on theocean’s already depleted fish stockswill rise and aquaculture will continueits rapid expansion.

Yet we know alarmingly little abouthow oceans work, and even lessabout how climate change, coastalhabitat destruction and pollution arechanging this watery world.

Enter the Ocean Frontier Institute,a new partnership bringing togetherDalhousie University, Memorial Uni-versity and the University of PrinceEdward Island, along with eight in-ternational research institutions andfederal and industry researchers. TheDalhousie-led institute was launchedin September with $94-million fromthe Canada First Research ExcellenceFund, an initiative of the Social Scienc-es and Humanities Research Council,the Natural Sciences and EngineeringResearch Council (NSERC) and the Ca-nadian Institutes of Health Research.

The institute’s mandate, says Dal-housie vice-president of research Mar-tha Crago, is to answer a deceptivelysimple question: How do we achievesustainable use of a rapidly changingocean?

“Wewill have two basic areas of fo-cus – atmosphere-ocean interactions

and shifting ecosystems,” says Dr.Crago. “And we will look at solutionsin sustainable fisheries and sustain-able aquaculture, in marine safety,and in data and technology so wecanmake predictions about change.”

The Ocean Frontier Institute willfocus on the Northwest Atlantic andthe adjacent Canadian Arctic Gate-way, which includes the Labrador Seaand the eastern section of the straitsof the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.This is because the region has anextremely productive ecosystemand may become home to southernmarine species exploiting new op-portunities in warming waters to thenorth. It is also a significant sink forcarbon dioxide and affects Earth’sclimate through the Atlantic Me-ridional Overturning Circulation – anorthward flow of warm, salty waterin the upper layers of the Atlantic,and a southward flow of colder waterin the deep Atlantic.

“The Northwest Atlantic is a sen-tinel ocean,” says Dr. Crago. “What’shappening there will be predictive ofwhat will happen in other parts of theglobal ocean.”

Some of that predictive work willcome from Dalhousie’s Ocean Track-ing Network (OTN), funded primarilyby the Canada Foundation for Inno-vation as well as NSERC, and whichwill support many of the OceanFrontier Institute’s programs. OTN’sresearchers track tagged marine ani-mals such as sharks, sturgeon, eelsand tuna, as well as other marinespecies including squid, sea turtlesand marine mammals, in relationto changing ocean conditions. Theirwork is revealing where and when

these animals migrate, feed and re-produce, allowing the fishing industryto avoid areas crucial to developmentand growth.

Dalhousie biologist Sara Iverson isthe OTN’s scientific director. She saysone current project will be especiallyimportant to the Ocean Frontier Insti-

Soil management research improving the livelihoods of West African farmers

Farmers in sub-Saharan Africaface high fertilizer costs, unsta-ble rainfall patterns and poor soil

quality. At the moment, crop produc-tion is growing by about one per centper year while the local population isincreasing by about three per cent. ButUniversity of Saskatchewan professorof environmental soil chemistry DerekPeak and an international researchteam are working to help bridge thatperilous gap.

“Our research, funded by the In-ternational Development ResearchCentre’s Canadian International FoodSecurity Research Fund (CIFSRF),investigates using fertilizer microdos-ing,” explains Dr. Peak. Microdosing,placing small amounts of fertilizerinto the soil beside plants after theyemerge, is proven to yield large im-provements from small inputs.

However, the outsized benefitsraised concerns that the process couldaccelerate land degradation. Throughtheir research, Dr. Peak and his teamwere able to determine thatmicrodos-ing had no more of an impact thanother fertilizationmethods, encourag-ing news for farmers who can’t affordtraditional fertilizer costs.

“We can now scale it up to an in-creasing number of farmers. Currently,

CANADIAN LIGHT SOURCE

we are applying this technique inNigeria and Benin, and see a $4 to $5return for every $1 of fertilizer. This isan enormous value proposition thatwill increase both farmers’ profits andfertilizer demand in the region, whichmay drive improvement of otherinfrastructure,” says Dr. Peak.

This research wouldn’t have beenpossible without the Spherical GratingMonochromator (SGM) beamline at theCanadian Light Source (CLS), a uniquefacility funded in part by the federalgovernment through theCanada Foun-dation for Innovation. “For this project,the CLS staff were research partners inthe truest sense,” saysDr. Peak. “Therewas a lot of instrument developmentand software analysis required thatwe developedwith the SGM beamlinestaff, particularly Dr. Tom Regier. I be-lieve the SGM is still the only place inthe world where we can make thesemeasurements.”

This confluence of research infra-structure and CIFSRF’s unique re-search and development fundingmandate made it possible to partnerwith research institutes and universi-ties in West Africa to improve thelivelihoods and household incomesof smallholder farmers, especiallywomen farmers, says Dr. Peak.

tute’s goal of sustainably managinga fast-changing ocean: gaining adeeper understanding of the appar-ent recovery of northern cod off thecoast of Newfoundland.

“It’s exciting, but we cannot justgo out and start fishing again, other-wise we risk collapsing the popula-

tion forever,” says Dr. Iverson. “Weare poised to look at the shiftingecosystems in the Northwest Atlan-tic, to look at how species may bemoving with climate change, wheretheir spawning grounds are and howto inform a plan for emerging andsustainable fisheries.”

The 1,000th peer-reviewed paper coming from data collected at theCanadian Light Source Synchrotron was published by University ofSaskatchewan researchers Courtney Phillips (right) and Dr. Derek Peak(centre), along with the CLS Spherical Grating Monochromator (SGM)beamline scientist Dr. Tom Regier. SUPPLIED

“Currently, we areapplying this techniquein Nigeria and Benin, andsee a $4 to $5 return forevery $1 of fertilizer. Thisis an enormous valueproposition that willincrease both farmers’profits and fertilizerdemand in the region.”

Dr. Derek Peakis a professor of environmentalsoil chemistry at the Universityof Saskatchewan

The Great Lakes hold 84% of North America’ssurface freshwater. The dynamic ecosystemthat relies on them supports more than 3,500species of plants and animals, over 35 millionpeople, and a multi-billion dollar economy.The continued viability of this critical naturalresource is being threatened by increasingagricultural intensification, climate change,invasive species and population growth.

Through its Healthy Great Lakes initiative, theUniversity of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institutefor Environmental Research is safeguardingour freshwater by providing science-basedsolutions to the most pressing socio-ecologicalchallenges facing the Great Lakes today.

University ofWindsor researchsafeguardsourGreatLakes

[email protected]

UWINDSORRESEARCH.ANYTHING ISPOSSIBLE.www.uwindsor.ca/research

Over the last two decades, thelandscape of biomedical researchacross Canada has evolveddramatically.

This is perfectly exemplified in the evolutionand impressive growth of our researchcommunity in downtown Toronto.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation is animportant partner in driving this growth—with $283,833,122† of its support, we haveleveraged another $328,722,864† with thehelp of our foundations, generous donors,private sector partners and the Province ofOntario.

The result is the creation of Canada’s largestresearch hospital, expanded with two newresearch towers and packed with state-of-the-art expertise and infrastructure tosupport a broad spectrum of leading-edgeresearch—from basic discovery to clinicaltranslation. Our incredible growth, combinedwith that of the adjacent world-renownedUniversity of Toronto and its affiliatedhospitals, has transformed the area into oneof the most research-intensive geographicalcorridors in the world, positioning Canada asa global leader in innovation in medicine.

Thank you283,833,122times.

†Funding awarded through Canada Foundation for Innovation programs, the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation Ontario Research Fund, and partnercontributions from generous philanthropic donations, foundations and private sector partners. Figures accurate as of October 2016.


Together with research partners and with the help of volunteers (left), Dr. Daniel Heath (right) is using next-generation DNA sequencing to determine when beach-goers can safely enjoy water activities. SUPPLIED


UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

Keys to survival: advancing food and water security

There is an intrinsic link betweenwater and food security – andboth have been identified as

pressing global concerns by the UnitedNations. Research is widely recognizedas an important vehicle for findingsolutions, and involving communitypartners – whether they are local,regional or global – can increase thepotential for translating scientific find-ings into tangible outcomes, accordingto University of Waterloo researchersPhilippe Van Cappellen and HeidiSwanson.

Dr. Swanson’s expertise is in con-taminant accumulation in aquaticfood webs – a key issue for Canada’snorthern communities, where indige-nous people have expressed concernsabout the impact of climate changeand resource development on thesafety and security of their traditionalfood sources. Fish in Arctic lakes, forexample, have been found to containlevels of contaminants, such as mer-cury, that can make them unsuitablefor consumption.

Yet when Dr. Swanson travels toremote northern communities, herfocus is not only on fish. “My role isdoing chemical analyses – and I comefrom a hard science background –but the places where I work are onpeople’s traditional homelands, so Isee integrating a social and humandimension into my research as anethical responsibility,” she says. “TheNorth is a very different environment,and cultural differences require us tobuild trust and understanding of eachothers’ perspectives.”

The fact that Dr. Swanson is usuallyinvited by community representatives,prepares the ground for a highly col-laborative approach, she says. Herwork with the Kluane First Nation inthe Yukon, for example, was basedon a “two-way knowledge exchange”that included researcher visits to har-vest camps, community feasts andmeetings, and youth visits to theuniversity.

Hosting community representatives– including indigenous youth – at theuniversity campus was a personalhighlight for Dr. Swanson. “Beforethe visit, the youth had worked withelders to decide where to fish. Theyhad gone out on the boat with usto collect and process fish samples,and helped to generate the numbersfor the age and mercury levels of thefish,” she explains. “After spendingtime at the university with us, theyreally understood the research resultsandwere able to present them to theirown community after their return.”

Remarkably, the students wereable to report low concentrations ofcontaminants in the Kluane Lake fish,she says. “They are healthier to eatthan those in the other areas we’vestudied in the North.”

But even in cases where her find-ings aren’t so positive, she feels theresearch can help to “empower com-munities to make their own choicesas to which are the healthiest sourcesof food and which actions to take.”

Canada Excellence Research ChairPhilippe Van Cappellen also sees thescience-policy interface as a priority.“As humans, we’re modifying thewater cycle at an unprecedented scale.One example of this is the systematicdamming of rivers and streams,” hesays. “While dams provide manyservices, from energy generationto flood control, they also have far-reaching consequences for waterquality, freshwater biodiversity andthe climate system.”

University of Waterloo researchers Dr. Philippe Van Cappellen and Dr. Heidi Swanson believe engaging communities in research efforts can lead to positivesolutions, such as those emerging from Dr. Swanson’s work with the Kluane First Nation in the Yukon. LEFT, MARTIN SCHWALBE; RIGHT (2), SUPPLIED

DNA sequencing enables water monitoring of recreational beaches

Beach closures are common onhot summer days in the Wind-sor area, with water contami-

nation levels keeping people out ofEssex County’s recreational waterson a regular basis. For Daniel Heathand Doug Haffner of the Universityof Windsor’s Great Lakes Institutefor Environmental Research (GLIER),more precise science could tell a dif-ferent story.

They’re among a team of research-ers at the university who are usingnext-generation DNA sequencing toidentify the presence and understandthe source of pathogens in the water.The research could identify envi-ronmental factors that contribute tobacterial and algal outbreaks, as wellas change how such testing is donein the future.

“It’s such an obvious applicationof DNA technology,” says Dr. Heath,a professor of conservation geneticswho is executive director of GLIER.“We can more broadly screen forpotential human health stressors inthe water and do it faster,” adds Dr.Haffner, Canada Research Chair inGreat Lakes Research (EnvironmentalHealth) and a professor of aquaticecology of large lakes.

Their research is being done in col-laboration with regional, provincial

UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR

“The North is a verydifferent environment,and cultural differencesrequire us to build trustand understandingof each others’perspectives.”

Dr. Heidi Swansonis a University of Waterlooresearcher

and federal governments as well asprivate organizations, and earlier thisyear was given amore than $500,000grant from the Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council of Can-ada. Dr. Heath says it has significantimplications for communities on thewater looking for better testingmeth-odologies to determine the health oftheir swimming and drinking water.

More accurate DNA testing “givesus a wide sweep of potential health

hazards,” Dr. Heath says, including ad-ditional bacteria types such as strep-tococcus, as well as algal blooms andother potentially harmful microbes. Itcan identify the danger level to humanhealth that dictates beach closings.“We won’t be guessing.”

The team will compare DNA se-quencing with current coliform test-ing, which identifies E. coli, a group ofbacteria found in human waste. Oneproblem is that E. coli itself isn’t nec-

essarily unsafe, although its presencecan indicate the presence of humanwaste containing other pathogens.

The first round of data analysisfrom this past summer’s water sam-pling should be available to the part-ners in a month. “There’s a lot ofinterest in our results,” he says, es-pecially with extremeweather eventsbrought about by climate change thatcan wash more contaminants intothe water.

Dr. Haffner says the DNA sequenc-ing will show if pathogens come fromurban or agricultural sources or existwithin the lake, for example in birddroppings. “If we identify the sourceof the contaminants, there can beproper targeted remediation.”

Next-generation DNA sequencingcan be expensive, he points out, butcosts have fallen and it can detectmyriad microbes in the water in as lit-tle as eight hours. This compares withdoing scores of individual samplecultures, which add up and can taketwo days for results to be available.

He thinks more precise testingcould show the region’s beaches endup closed when they might safelyremain open. It will also help findways to reduce harmful microbes inthe future, he adds. “This could keepthe beaches open.”

By 2030, 90 per cent of all riv-ers and streams on Earth will befragmented by dams, says Dr. VanCappellen, who leads an interdisciplin-ary research team focusing on theprocesses – both natural and human-driven – that control water qualityalong the hydrological cycle.

“Dams create new habitats alongrivers, they change water chemistryand they physically hold back sedi-ments and nutrients from reachingcoastal areas,” says Dr. Van Cappel-len, who looks at water as part ofsocio-ecological systems. “Large-scaleretention of sediment by dams cancause river deltas to sink and limitthe biological productivity of coastalecosystems. Combined with risingsea levels, this creates enormous chal-lenges for the very large populationsliving in, for example, the Mekongor the Ganges-Brahmaputra deltas.”

At the same time, it’s hard toignore the benefits of dams. “In

many parts of the world, dams arean important source of flood con-trol, like the low-lying areas alongthe Yangtze River. Dams currentlyprovide one of themost clean, afford-able and reliable forms of electricitygeneration. We also see a surprisingamount of adaptability of river ecol-ogy upstream of dams, with entirelynew ecosystems evolving in the res-ervoirs.”

Because of the global and oftentrans-boundary nature of the re-search and issues, Dr. Van Cappellenworks closely with partners world-wide, including in Southeast Asiaand Europe. “Ultimately, we wantto produce the best possible sciencethat is required to help communitiesand governments make informeddecisions that minimize the trade-offs between the obvious benefitsof dams and their environmentalimpacts at local, regional and globalscales.”

“We can more broadlyscreen for potential humanhealth stressors in thewater and do it faster.”

Dr. Doug Haffneris Canada Research Chair in GreatLakes Research

ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES

Homes in Canada account for nearlya fifth of the nation’s energy use, withthe majority of that energy beingused to heat space and water. Findingbetter ways to power our homescan significantly impact Canada’scommitment to reducing climatechange.Carleton University, in partnership withthe Canada Foundation for Innovationand Urbandale Construction, has builta full-scale home on its campus thatacts as a living lab for researchers withan interest in solar and geothermalenergy. For the next few decades,

it will also give students hands-onresearch experience.The discoveries made here areabout our future. And the future issustainable.research.carleton.ca

THE GLOBE AND MAIL • TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 22 , 2016 CFI 7

UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

Research network tacklingglobal water threats

Canada is seen as a land of greatlakes and mighty rivers, butrapid rates of global warm-

ing and increasing human impactson land and water are putting thecountry – and other cold regions ofthe world – at unprecedented risk forfloods, droughts and other seriouswater security challenges.

That’s why the University of Sas-katchewan’s $143-million Global Wa-ter Futures (GWF) project is so criticalfor Canada and beyond.

Awarded $77.8-million from theCanada First Research ExcellenceFund (CFREF), GWF aims to transformthe way communities, governmentsand industries in Canada and othercold regions of the world prepare forand manage increasing water-relatedthreats in the face of climate change.

Led by the U of S Global Institutefor Water Security and three keyuniversity partners – Waterloo, Mc-Master and Wilfrid Laurier – GWFis one of the largest research col-laborations in the world, with 380researchers in Canada alone andnumerous industrial, academic andgovernment partner organizationsaround the globe.

“No institution nationally or in-ternationally has assembled sucha large-scale and multidisciplinarywater research initiative of this kind,”says Howard Wheater, Canada Ex-cellence Research Chair in WaterSecurity and GWF program director.

The need for GWF is underscoredby the increasing incidence of naturaldisasters related to water and climatesuch as the southern Ontario droughtthis summer, the Fort McMurray firesin May and both the Alberta and To-ronto floods of 2013, to name a few.

“The costs of these disasters areextraordinarily high and could be re-duced by improved forecasting, com-munity planning and water manage-ment,” says John Pomeroy, CanadaResearch Chair in Water Resourcesand Climate Change, and GWF as-sociate program director.

He notes that half the world’swater comes from cold regions. Yetas the climate warms, Canada’s gla-ciers, frozen ground and snowpacksare diminishing, resulting in earlierand often smaller streamflows. “We

Dr. Dawn Keim (left), Global Water Futures program director Dr. HowardWheater and Dr. Jay Sagin examine water from the South SaskatchewanRiver. SUPPLIED

RESEARCHBUILDS MYFARMING

COMMUNITY

Crop scientist Simon Bonin and cranberry farmer OlivierPilotte stand knee-deep in a flooded field in the ruralmunicipality of Lourdes on the south shore of the St. Law-rence near Quebec City. It’s the heartland of a cranberry-growing district that has expanded spectacularly in the last15 years with research carried out at the Université Laval andthe establishment of the Fruit d’Or processing company atNotre-Dame-de-Lourdes.

PATRICE HALLEY

HISTORYHIGHLIGHTS

The CanadaFoundation forInnovation’ssuccess isbased on givingresearchers thetools they needto think big andconduct world-class research.

1997A bold vision

The CFI isestablishedwith a five-year mandate,$800-millionand grand plansto reshapeCanada’sresearchlandscape.

1999Bringingscientists back

The CFI’s firstreport on resultspoints out thebeginning ofa brain drainreversal thanksto the attractiveresearch facilitiesnow available inCanada.

2001A fundingmilestone

By March2001, the CFIhas invested$873-million inalmost 1,200projects.

2002Onlinestorytelling

The CFI launchesan onlinemagazine,InnovationCanada, inkeeping withthe times andto keep readersup to datewith Canadianresearch.

2004Tackling bighealth issues

The CFI launchesa fund to supportlarge-scaleresearch hospitalprojects and tohelp conductworld-classhealth research.

2013Cars of thefuture

Lighter, faster,safer cars areno longer adream for thefuture thanksto a fundingboost throughAutomotivePartnershipCanada.

2015Recognizinginnovation

The CFI becomesa foundingpartner ofthe GovernorGeneral’sInnovationAwards andresponsible formanaging theadjudicationprocess.

2016Gearing up for20 years

Celebrations forthe CFI’s 20thanniversarybegin witha fresh newwebsite full ofstories of howresearch buildscommunitiesacross Canada.

simply have not properly looked afterwater, our most precious natural as-set,” Dr. Pomeroy says.

Water quality is also a seriousissue in some areas. “The drinkingwater problems of many rural areasand especially First Nations com-munities are unacceptable,” he adds.

GWF will provide new scientific in-formation, prediction tools and com-munity-based solutions to ensurewater security. Specifically, GWF willdramatically improve understandingof water, weather, climate, aquaticecosystems and how humans cansustain healthy water environments.

“Wewill use this world-leading sci-ence and unprecedented water datato develop new computer models toforecast flooding, droughts, watersupply and water quality, and bettermanage water,” says Dr. Pomeroy.

In particular, GWF will help initiateCanada’s first national water disasterwarning system through the creationof new forecasting tools and water-measurement technology.

“We will help make Canada anation that has the capacity to sus-tainably manage its water, reduceits exposure to natural disasters andsustain a remarkably high quality oflife, economic activity and ecosystemconservation,” he says.

The program will also train hun-dreds of students, scientists andengineers in addressing water-relatedthreats.

“Water security is one of the mostpressing issues around the world,”says Holly Annand, a U of S doc-toral student studying the impactof changing climate and agriculturalpractices on prairie hydrology. “I seethis project as a necessary step to-wards engaging people from mul-tiple sectors to do their very best topreserve and protect water resourcesfor the future – and not just for theirown individual or immediate needs.”

Ultimately, GWF will promote de-velopment of a national water policy“so that Canada better governs itselfas a healthy water nation,” says Dr.Pomeroy. “With GWF, Canada be-comes a water solutions country thatothers will look to as an example ofhow to do it right and a source of an-swers for difficult water challenges.”

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McGILL UNIVERSITY

Super computers are speeding up brain research

It takes more than scientific rigourand intellectual prowess to studythe human brain at its deepest

levels. These days, the pursuit ofneuroscience also calls for computingpower – a lot of it, way beyond whatordinary desk- and laptops can deliver.

“We’re now at a point where neu-roscience and information sciencehave come together, with significantimpact on how studies on the brainare conducted,” says Alan Evans,professor of neurology, psychiatryand biomedical engineering at McGillUniversity. “The problem is that youhave these big supercomputers butmost researchers cannot get at them.

In fact most really don’t know how toapproach the beast.”

Today, thanks to a McGill-led proj-ect called CBRAIN, researchers canperform analyses on large datasetsby connecting to high-performancecomputing facilities across Canada andin other countries. This open-sourcesoftware platform, which is overlaidby an easy-to-use interface, providesaccess to neuroimaging and geneticanalysis tools as well as 2D and 3Dvisualization of brain data.

For scientists trying to understand,and find a cure for, complex neuro-logical diseases such as Alzheimer’s,CBRAIN provides a way to combinehuge amounts of data fromDNA tests,brain imaging and other sources, andto collaborate with other researchersin the country and around the world.

“It is the default IT platform forneuroscience in the country,” saysDr. Evans, a principal investigator inthe McConnell Brain Imaging Centreat McGill University’s Montreal Neuro-logical Institute and Hospital. “Thereare very few equivalents in the worldat this point.”

CBRAIN is an important part ofMcGill University’s Healthy Brains forHealthy Lives initiative, which bringstogether 270 scientists and clinicians,350 graduate students and 255 post-doctoral fellows to study the brain. Dr.Evans says the initiative focuses onthree key areas: brain developmentand development disorders, neurode-generative diseases such as dementiaand Alzheimer’s, and normal braincognition and plasticity.

In addition to CBRAIN, anotherthing that makes Healthy Brains forHealthy Lives unique is its adoption ofopen-science principles that share allresearch data with the world.

Guy Rouleau, director of theMontre-al Neurological Institute and Hospital,says sharing resources can acceleratescience by reducing or eliminating theduplication of work. This is why earlierthis year the institute embraced anopen-science approach that makes allof its published research results anddata freely available.

“We also have an institutional bio-bank that contains both bio specimens

and clinical data, and we are makingall of that available as well,” says Dr.Rouleau. “We are doing this within theconstraints of ethics and patients willbe asked for their approval before weshare any information.”

Dr. Rouleau says the institute willalso not file for patents or licences – oranything that puts intellectual propertyrestrictions – on any of its discoveries.

“The objective is to accelerateresearch and to facilitate the develop-ment of drugs,” he says. “We’re no

longer in the days of Banting and Bestwhere you work very hard on small-scale experiments that lead incremen-tally to discovery. Today, I’ll send DNAsamples to a lab and get back terabytesof data, some of which are of interestto me, and the rest, which are not, willend up buried in my lab.

“But if I make this data freely avail-able, there are lots of smart people outtherewho can look at it and learnmorethings, far beyondwhat I’m looking atin my own research.”

“The objective is toaccelerate research and tofacilitate the developmentof drugs. We’re no longerin the days of Bantingand Best where you workvery hard on small-scaleexperiments that leadincrementally to discovery.”

Dr. Guy Rouleauis director of the MontrealNeurological Institute and Hospital

CBRAIN provides a way to combine data from DNA tests, brain imagingand other sources. An example of a resource that is available to the publicis BigBrain, for which researchers stained sections of a preserved brainto detect cell bodies. After this step, the individual sections – numberingover 7,400 – were digitized to create a high-resolution 3D reference.IMAGE COURTESY OF AMUNTS, ZILLES, EVANS ET AL.

RESEARCHBUILDS MYMUSICCOMMUNITY

Ewald Cheung, a graduate student of music at McGillUniversity, started playing violin when he was four yearsold. A research partnership between McGill and Universitéde Montréal is developing new technologies for live perfor-mances – including in virtual environments – and studyinghow performers coordinate their actions in large ensemblesand how listeners perceive the sounds of different instru-ments in orchestral works.

CHRISTINNE MUSCHI

Université d’Ottawa | University of Ottawa

DEFY THE CONVENTIONALresearch.uOttawa.ca

Celebratinga cornerstoneof researchFor 20 years, the Canada Foundation for Innovationhas provided researchers with the tools of discovery.The University of Ottawa salutes this remarkable milestoneanniversary and thanks the CFI for its invaluablecontribution to the University’s research achievements.

Find research solutionsto give your companya competitive edge

Visit

500 RESEARCH FACILITIES—with expertise in every sector, frommanufacturing

to clean technologies to aerospace, pharmaceuticals

andmuchmore—are now listed in our online, bilingual

database. And they are open toworkingwith business.

• Access state-of-the-art research equipment

• Connect with world-leading experts

• Engage highly-trained students



UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK

Two towers over two decades: the evolution of Toronto’sbiomedical research landscape

Over the last two decades,Canada’s leadership in manyaspects of biomedical research

has progressed significantly, and theevolution is exemplified by the im-pressive growth of the UniversityHealth Network (UHN) research com-munity in downtown Toronto.

Since its creation in 1997, UHN hasworked in partnershipwith the CanadaFoundation for Innovation (CFI), theOntario government, and its foun-dations and donors to advance itsmedical research strengths. The orga-nization has been ranked number oneamong Canada’s top 40 research hos-pitals for several years. Additionally,many of its scientists are internation-ally recognized for advances across aspectrum of diseases and disciplines,including immunology, cancer, rehabmedicine, cardiac science and brainresearch.

Two major milestones in UHN’sgrowth include the design, construc-tion and launch of two research towersthat are equipped with the latest high-end laboratory facilities and researchequipment.

In 2005, UHN opened the PrincessMargaret Cancer Research Tower (PM-CRT), a $400-million, 15-storey struc-ture located in the heart of the TorontoDiscovery District. PMCRT houses thePrincess Margaret Cancer Centre over10 research floors, one of the top-fivecancer research centres in the world.The PMCRT also hosts the McEwenCentre for Regenerative Medicine andprograms from the Toronto GeneralResearch Institute and Techna.

The Krembil Discovery Tower waslaunched in 2013. This $165-million,nine-storey extension of the TorontoWestern Hospital is populated byresearch teams investigating new di-agnostic tools and treatments inmanyof the major disease areas affect-ing the aging population, includingstroke, dementia, arthritis and vision.Krembil researchers have many jointprograms with UHN’s fifth researchinstitute, Toronto Rehabilitation Insti-

The University Health Network’s leading-edge research infrastructure enables world-class research, helps toattract and retain top talent, and enhances discovery and innovation. SUPPLIED

Dr. Ellen Bialystok is part of theYork Research Chairs program thatacknowledges research excellencewithin the university community.SUPPLIED

tute, which has also benefited fromsignificant CFI funding.

Together, the two towers haveadded over 550,000 square feet ofstate-of-the-art dedicated researchspace to UHN – equivalent to morethan six-and-a-half FIFA-regulationsoccer fields.

“When we sought funds to sup-

port these projects, we recognizedthat if we wanted to retain and recruitworld-class scientists, we had to offerworld-class facilities,” says Robert Bell,who was CEO and president of UHNfrom 2005 to 2014, and is currentlyOntario’s deputy minister of healthand long-term care.

For example, he points to the value

of the more than $40-million in CFIgrants for infrastructure and special-ized equipment in the Krembil Dis-covery Tower.

“Those investments set us up toconduct modern neuroscience re-search and allowed us to attract topscientists with incredible visions ofopportunity,” Dr. Bell says. “Crucially,

the researchers we have brought in toboth towers are translational scien-tists – who want to work in centresattached to hospitals and see theirdiscoveries translated into new treat-ments and improved patient care.”

“Of the 130 scientists working in thetwo research towers, 68 of themwerenot at UHN before the towers werebuilt,” says Christopher Paige, whowas UHN’s executive vice-presidentof science and research from 1997until earlier this year. He continues asa senior scientist in cancer researchat UHN.

“These facilities have enabled usto attract superb scientists at the topof their fields, such as Don Weaver,who is making novel compounds fortreatment of Alzheimer’s disease,and Valerie Wallace, who is pushingthe envelope on regenerative medi-cine for diseases of the retina,” saysDr. Paige.

The leading-edge research infra-structure has also enabled UHN toretain its top scientists in the face ofgrowing global competition for the“best and the brightest,” he adds.

Among the state-of-the-art tech-nology that has supported researchadvances is that of the STTARR Inno-vation Centre (cellular and preclinicalimaging) and the Advanced OpticalMicroscopy Facility – the largest of itskind in Canada.

The PMCRT and Krembil DiscoveryTower were also built using innovativeapproaches to lab benching, whichpromote flexibility and teamwork.

“Research changes over time, andour design allows us to take spaceconfigured for one kind of researchand convert it easily to another kind,”says Dr. Paige.

“We also have an open lab concept,instead of traditional enclosed labspaces with small groups of peopleworking in silos. When you have 30or more scientists working in a spacewithout walls, they can interact witheach other more and that furtherenhances discovery and innovation.”

Creating a community of research excellence

Ellen Bialystok is a superstar.The York University researcherstudies the effects of experi-

ence on cognitive function and brainorganization across the lifespan, withparticular emphasis on bilingualism.Her findings point to a lifelong “bilin-gual advantage,” which could offsetor delay symptoms of age-relatedbrain deterioration, such as dementiaand Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Bialystok’s work has receivedwide attention from both within andbeyond the research community, andthis year, shewas named anOfficer ofthe Order of Canada.

At York, she holds the Walter Gor-don York Research Chair of LifespanCognitive Development, an appoint-

YORK UNIVERSITY

ment conferred through the YorkResearch Chairs program. Thesechairs, created exclusively for YorkUniversity facultymembers, acknowl-edge research excellence within theuniversity community, says MarkRoseman, director of Strategic andInstitutional Research Initiatives atYork University.

York’s vice-president, Research &Innovation Dr. Robert Hache adds“York’s researchers are among someof the world’s leading scholars andexperts. We are proud to have es-tablished the York Research Chairsprogram, an initiative that will helpto further build, support and intensifyworld-renowned research taking placeat the university.”

The program is modelled on theCanada Research Chairs (CRC) pro-gram, explains Dr. Roseman, and Yorkrecipients are on the same level asCRC chairholders. “We expect themto meet the same standards of excel-lence,” he says. “And we have thesame rigorous selection and peerreview process. We also provide acomparable level of support and rec-ognition.”

The calibre of research conductedby chairholders like Dr. Bialystok andNantel Bergeron, whose work fur-thers the understanding of complexalgorithms in computer science andmathematics and provides insightsinto the super-symmetry of nature,speaks for itself. And receiving this

high level of recognition from withinthe university raises the profile of theresearchers. It can also help to attracttalent and funding, says Dr. Roseman.

Yet the honour also comes withexpectations. “We encourage ourchairholders to undertake leadershipactivities to further accelerate theirdiscipline,” he explains. “They areexpected to nurture up-and-comingresearchers, for example, or lead col-laborative efforts within their field.”

In addition to celebrating researchexcellence, the program brings to-gether experts from various facultiesand disciplines – creating a “pow-erful multidisciplinary communityof accomplished researchers,” saysDr. Roseman. “They are all superstars.

DAL.CA

We’re ableto think bigbecause you didTogether, we’re making new discoveries and deliveringglobal solutions to complex ocean challenges. CFI’sinvestment in the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) hashelped make Dalhousie a hub of ocean expertise. Byusing electronic tags to track over 140 species aroundthe world, OTN researchers are taking a closer look atmarine life than ever before. This research will changehow scientists and world leaders understand andmanage pressing global concerns such as fisheriesmanagement in the face of climate change. OTN is justone of the ways Canadian scientists are using CFI fundedequipment to give us a deeper understanding of ourocean and its sustainable management.



OPINION

Fostering a culture of innovation

By His Excellency the RightHonourable David Johnston,Governor General of Canada

One of the true privileges ofserving as governor generalcomes in having the chance to

celebrate great Canadian successes inceremonies at Rideau Hall and acrossthe country. We do this to shine alight on remarkable achievementsand individuals that make Canadaand our world better places, and wedo it to encourage others to attemptthe same. This is especially importantwhen it comes to innovation, a termthat is often misunderstood despiteits position at the heart of all humanprogress.

It’s important to define what wemean by innovation. It’s not invention.Innovation, rather, is an economicand social process, a means by whichproductivity is improved and betterways of organizing and operating areachieved as a society. It’s about devel-oping new ways of doing things andcreating value – value that will stimu-late positive social change, economicgrowth and higher standards of livingfor all. And that last point is critical,because recent history has shown usthat in today’s world, the only last-ing progress is shared progress fromwhich all people benefit.

The importance of innovation intoday’s rapidly changing, thoroughlyinterconnected world simply can’t beoverstated. If change is the new con-stant, innovation is the new impera-tive. In order to continue the work ofbuilding a Canada thatmaximizes bothequality of opportunity and excellencein the global arena, we must sharpenour focus on innovation in our work-places, our schools, our politics andour institutions. The spirit of creativityand problem-solving must permeateour entire society. Thatmeans creating

a culture of appreciation and celebra-tion for our leading innovators. Someof the world’s best live among us,yet we don’t highlight them or sharetheir stories enough. We should do sowidely and boldly.

This is one of the reasons why wepresented the inaugural GovernorGeneral’s Innovation Awards earlierthis year at Rideau Hall. The awardswent to six deserving recipients whocome from cities and towns acrossCanada. They work in disparate fieldsbut are united in their focus on im-proving lives and creating value. Byhonouring them and telling theirstories, we aim to cultivate that culture

of innovation and to nurture it. Whatwe’re trying to do is create a Canadianmindset that sees innovation as partof what makes us who we are. Byrecounting great innovation stories,we help people see what it means toinnovate, how it can help us, and tosay, “I can do that, too.”

Speaking of celebration, let me addmy thoughts on the 20th anniversaryof the Canada Foundation for Innova-tion. It’s a milestone worth celebrat-ing. Over the past two decades, thisorganization has supported thousandsof researchers in their important work.It has helped to tell their innovationstories and to build the case for cre-

It’s important to definewhat we mean byinnovation. It’s notinvention. Innovation,rather, is an economic andsocial process, a meansby which productivityis improved and betterways of organizing andoperating are achieved asa society.

The inaugural Governor General’s Innovation Awards went to (clockwise from top right): Jeff Dahn, Kinova’s Charles Deguire, Mark Torchia and RichardTyc, Breanne Everett, Christi Belcourt and Robert Burrell. LEFT, TRUDIE LEE; TOP RIGHT, NICK PEARCE, DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY; ALL OTHERS SUPPLIED

ativity and ingenuity in Canada. Ithas been at the forefront in creatingopportunities for Canadians, and it isleading us into 2017, the 150th anniver-sary of this great country, with a keenfocus on this important challenge.May it continue to do so for manyyears to come, and may we make2017 the year in which innovationemerges as central to what it meansto be Canadian.

We have so much to celebratewhen it comes to innovation in Can-ada. Let’s share our successes widelyand remind all Canadians that to in-novate is to unlock the promise of abetter future.

2016

Experience thought-provoking, five-minute presentations byUBC faculty and alumni, followed by UBC President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Santa J. Ono, moderating a discussion tobridge life science, medicine and engineering, and showing howthese intersecting fields are advancing biomedical engineering.Visit innovate.apsc.ubc.ca for more information and to rsvp.

mel.ubc.camhlp.ubc.ca

AYEAR can CHANGE EVERYTHING



UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL

Cancer research findings move from lab into clinics

The combination of basic research to better understand cancer plus arapid drug discovery chain enables faster results at the Institute forResearch in Immunology and Cancer, says Dr. Michel Bouvier. SUPPLIED

Since cancer is the leading causeof mortality in Canada, and re-sponsible for 30 per cent of all

deaths, it is more than a distant threatfor many Canadians who have facedits wrath directly or through a friendor family member.

That makes the work at the In-stitute for Research in Immunologyand Cancer (IRIC) at Université deMontréal, the only facility takinganticancer drug development fromstart to finish, all the more critical.“We have assembled all the ele-ments for early drug discovery,” saysMichel Bouvier, CEO of IRIC. “Fromtarget identification all the way togenerating the chemistry and havingearly clinical trials – it’s all integrated.There’s no other place in Canada thathas done that.”

These capabilities enable IRIC tocultivate targeted therapies. “A lotof the therapies being used are verygeneral,” explains Dr. Bouvier. “Theykill cancer cells, but they also killnormal cells with quite devastatingside effects.”

The institute’s cutting-edge re-search can identify specific targetsthrough genomics, systems biologyand molecular diagnostics to controlvarious individual cancers. “Canceris not one disease,” he says. “Evenwhen we say breast cancer, leukemiaor liver cancer, there are differenttypeswithin each [category]. The ideais that we can identify these key tar-gets to solve one type of the disease.Then we can target the therapy, andit will have much better efficiencywithout the detrimental side effects.”

The combination of basic researchto better understand cancer plus arapid drug discovery chain enablesIRIC to deliver faster results. Over one

decade, IRIC already has two drugsfor leukemias in clinical trials – that’sless than half the time it usually takes.

“For us to do this so fast is quite

spectacular, by any account,” says Dr.Bouvier. “We were able to assemblethe right people and the right re-sources. By increasing the intensity ofresearch, we are increasing the chanceof getting more drugs more rapidly.”

That’s welcome news, especiallysince the incidence of cancer is ex-pected to increase in light of Canada’saging population. “We’re estimatingthat in three to five years, IRIC’s workwill have a real impact for people whohave cancer now. It may happen dur-ing your lifetime, not just for your kidsor grandkids,” he affirms.

And for IRIC researchers, being ableto see their work through from incep-tion to completion is hugely gratify-ing. “There’s nothingmore rewardingthan seeing the fruit of your researchtruly helping people.”

A foundation for community wellness

Professors Judy Finlay and ShelaghMcCartney have partnered to apply thelearnings of Finlay’s community-drivenresearch project, which established tenpriority determinants for health in each offive Northern Ontario First Nations.Together, they are walking alongside theNibinamik First Nation, as they establish acommunity-determined wellness actionframework that serves the needs of theirNation and addresses housing as a toppriority for wellness.

Ryerson researchers are creatingpositive societal change throughinnovative partnershipsRyerson faculty are pursuing research and innovation to

address challenges across multiple themes including energy

and sustainability, health and well being, digital media and

technology, and more.

Our spirit of collaboration, reputation for city building, and

interdisciplinary approach to research make Ryerson a

preferred partner for community, government, industry, and

not-for-profits.

Partner with Ryerson today. Visit ryerson.ca/research

Collaborative researchmeets communitytransformation at Ryerson

65%increase inresearch funding inthe last 5 years

#1undergraduateuniversity for totalresearch incomeover the last 15 years(Research Infosource 2016)

190+local, national andglobal fundingpartners

Painting in photo created by First Nation Youth from northernOntario and non-indigenous youth from southern Ontario, aspart of a project called Southern Youth in Motion.



ALGONQUIN COLLEGE

Entrepreneurship models based on western andindigenous values

Arenewedcommitment to innova-tion at Algonquin College in Ot-tawa ismeant to inspire students

to acquire entrepreneurial skills and, inparticular, to empower entrepreneursamong its aboriginal students.

Algonquin has announced the cre-ation of a $44.9-million Innovation,Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre,part of the renovation and moderniza-tion of its library. It includes the Institutefor Indigenous Entrepreneurship, thefirst of its kind on a college campus inOntario, which will give aboriginal stu-dents, alumni and community partnersaccess to tools, technologies andmen-toring support based on indigenous aswell as western business principles.

Marc Fares, vice-president of digitaltechnologies and innovation for Al-gonquin College, says the facility, tobe completed in 2018, will be a “hubfor creative energies and a place toencourage the incubation and accel-eration of ideas,” as part of a broadermandate to embed entrepreneurshipin all academic programming.

“This is more than just bricks-and-mortar,” he says. “Our college is put-ting a renewed focus on innovation

in all aspects of the applied learningexperience.”

The new centre “will allow us totrain more students for the innova-tive and highly specialized jobs oftoday and tomorrow,” Mr. Fares says.

Features include a multimedia produc-tion facility and space for students toexperiment with digital technologiessuch as 3Dprinting and scanning. Therewill be mentoring programs, network-ingopportunities and competitions that

promote business innovation.As part of the centre, the Institute

for Indigenous Entrepreneurship willsupport innovation among the morethan 1,100 Inuit, First Nations andMétislearners at Algonquin, who represent

Algonquin College’s Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship, scheduled to open in 2018, will support innova-tion among the college’s more than 1,100 Inuit, First Nations and Métis students. SUPPLIED

3.9 per cent of its 28,000 students.Aboriginal youth are “a demograph-

ic cohort on the rise” in Canada, butthey often “have been forced to followa western model of entrepreneurshipthat values an aggressive, individualstyle in business practices,” Mr. Faressays, while indigenous cultures em-phasize family and community. “Weneed to find ways to help our indig-enous students take their ideas andrun with them.”

He says the new centre is about“city building,” reaching out to newpartners and forming new collabora-tions. Algonquin is already a key part ofEastern Ontario’s entrepreneurial andinnovation ecosystem; its faculty, staffand students have participated in ap-plied research projects that have helpedsome400 companies createmore than200 jobs over the past five years.

“The goal is to dramatically increaseAlgonquin’s capacity to accelerateinnovation, support new businessventures, develop entrepreneurshipwithin our students, alumni and allmembers of our community, andcreate jobs to stimulate economicgrowth,” Mr. Fares adds.

BEYONDScience Fiction

Imagine travelling from Toronto to Montreal in just 30 minutes.In 2015, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk launched the Hyperloopcompetition to create a new mode of transit that will take usbeyond planes, trains and automobiles. The goal is to achievecommuter speeds of up to 1,200 km/hour.

Waterloop, a cross-faculty team of Waterloo students, took onthe challenge. Their design was chosen from among hundredsto go to the next phase — building a prototype pod to be testedin California this January.

Following successful demonstration of their groundbreakinglevitation system in November, the team is working hard totransport us into the future much faster than expected.

WATERLOO EMPOWERSSTUDENTS TO GO BEYOND.LEARN MORE.

uwaterloo.ca/beyond/science-fiction

#UWaterlooBeyond


Innovation York provides pathways that allow participants to take their ideas and early-stage ventures from thedrawing board to the lab to the commercial marketplace. SUPPLIED


YORK UNIVERSITY

Researchers and entrepreneurs unite

Imagine monitoring a baby’s vitalsigns through a fabric sensor tech-nology that mimics a simple bed

sheet, or curing toenail fungus witha low-cost, non-invasive treatmentthat’s fast, safe and painless, and canbe administered in the patient’s homeor in a clinic. These are among thestartup ventures that are well on theirway to becoming viable and scalablebusinesses with the help of Innova-tion York, York University’s innovationoffice.

Innovation York provides pathwaysfor taking ideas and early-stage ven-tures from the drawing board to thelab to the commercial marketplace.The startup ventures vary greatly – andinclude for-profit, social enterprise and

non-profit ventures – yet they haveone thing in common: the potential tohave a positive impact on the globaleconomy, while enhancing researchcapacity at the university, says directorof Innovation York Sarah Howe.

One program offered under the In-novation York umbrella is LaunchYU,which provides year-round support andmentoring to entrepreneurs both oncampus (students, trainees and facultymembers) and off campus – that is,community members. The LaunchYUAccelerator Program is an intensive20-week program that supports 20high-potential ventures, matchingentrepreneurs with mentors and pro-viding tailored support to facilitatesustainable growth.

The university benefits, too, saysYork University’s vice-president Re-search & Innovation Robert Haché.“These entrepreneurial engines atthe university – Innovation York andLaunchYU – have become an integralpart of York’s culture. Their cross-func-tional support services encourage thecollaboration between entrepreneurialand research communities, and willultimately help pioneer novel innova-tions and maximize the economic,social and environmental benefits ofour research.”

“At Innovation York,we are focused ontranslating researchoutcomes, whether theyare technology, service orknowledge based.”

Sarah Howeis director of Innovation York

RESEARCHBUILDS MYINDIGENOUSCOMMUNITY

Sheyenne Spence (left) is Métis and was a research assistantat the Indigenous Health Law Research Centre at BrandonUniversity in Brandon, Man. The centre gathers traditionalhealing knowledge to inform better health policy for andwith indigenous peoples in Canada. Grace Godmaire is anhonorary elder within the Brandon community and withthe Ojibwa/Cree Nation.

THOMAS FRICKE

“By encouraging industry-academiccollaborations, we are helping theseventures grow, strengthening ourresearch portfolio and often providingimportant research internship experi-ence for our postdocs and graduatestudents,” says Ms. Howe.

The fabric-sensor technology devel-oped by Studio 1 Lab and the treatmentfor toenail fungus advanced by ToeFXare just two ventures now moving tothe next stage, where theywill benefitfrom collaborative research with theuniversity community.

LISTEN NOW

Two decades ago, the creation of the Canada Foundation for Innovation was a game-changer forresearch in Canada. But how did it come to be? Go to Innovation.ca to listen to a four-part podcastseries for an insider’s look at how Canada jumped to the front of the line in research capacity.

THISIS

INNOVATION[ TURNING IDEAS INTO HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES ]

Innovation York helps entrepreneurs turn innovative ideas into impactful ventures.

We connect York University researchers with partners to help solve industry

challenges. Innovation York has supported ideas as diverse as portable water testing

solutions, a platform that creates automated social media content and an image

recognition technology that identifies produce without barcodes at grocery checkouts.

At York University, we provide an integrated suite of services

to help budding entrepreneurs and growing businesses realize

their dreams of success. YORKU.CA/INNOVATIONYORK


Ron Kellett, director of UBC’s School of Architecture and LandscapeArchitecture, and his teams tackle the challenge of getting cities and theirinfrastructure right. SUPPLIED


UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Making a modern world: transforming environmentalliabilities into opportunities

With over 50 per cent of theworld’s population currentlyliving in cities – and projec-

tions showing that number jumpingto nearly 70 per cent by 2050 – theenvironmental performance of urbanareas needs to feature prominently inclimate change mitigation strategies.

As Ron Kellett sees it, that meansimproving the quality and impact ofcities is a must for the planet. And, in

fact, cities are rich with opportunity toaddress many of our world’s diverseand urgent problems, such as rapidpopulation growth, climate change,water quality, housing equity or hu-man health and well-being.

“The United Nations’ Habitat 3 inQuito that just concluded enabled animportant global conversation aroundcities as agents and instruments ofpositive change,” says Mr. Kellett, di-

rector of UBC’s School of Architectureand Landscape Architecture. “Thisconversation has tipped significantly inthe past decade. Cities, once perceivedas environmental liabilities, are nowseen as environmental opportunities –when they are planned, designed andengineered, built andmanaged right.”

Mr. Kellett’s school is part of UBCApplied Science, a mega-faculty onthe front lines of shaping a smarter,more efficient, sustainable and livablebuilt environment. It’s no wondermunicipalities reach out to Mr. Kellettand his colleagues as they tackle thecomplex challenge of designing citiesand developing their infrastructure forsustainability.

“What’s been compelling to meabout Applied Science is that it cantackle this very complex reframing ofcity-making to leverage cross-scalesystems-based solutions that creativelyintegrate the best public policy, sci-ence, technology and design uponwhich excellent sustainable cities de-pend,” Mr. Kellett says.

Getting cities and their infrastruc-ture right is a huge challenge. AppliedScience cuts across all aspects of thatchallenge.

“Our faculty includes planners,architects, landscape architects, engi-neers and health professionals,” Mr.Kellett says. “If you think about thefuture of our world as dependent ona creative confluence of physical, tech-nical, human and natural systems, thisis what Applied Science can do betterthan other groups – we have smartand capable faculty and students,and academic programs that span thatpanorama.”

For example, James Olson, a me-chanical engineering professor andthe associate dean for research andindustrial partnerships, works onfinding sustainable materials for anumber of uses.

“If we’re going to transform intoclimate-friendly economies, part ofthat is the transition from a fossileconomy to a bio economy,” Dr. Ol-son says. “I work to convert biomassinto high-value materials and super-

strong composites that can be usedto improve a wide variety of productsand create future products – every-thing from civil infrastructure materi-als to advanced wound dressings andultra-efficient filters that can eliminatewater- and air-borne disease.”

Using those “high-value materi-als,” which are made of advancedmicrofibres, his team is also buildingthermally insulated, renewable, recy-clable packaging that could be usedto deliver e-groceries, potentially bydrone.

These materials – andmuch otherwork and consultation being under-taken at UBC Applied Science – arepart of the bigger picture, says Mr.Kellett, who notes that the solutionsneeded to create better cities will be aconfluence of technical, build, humanand natural systems.

“How do you make the built en-vironment a hybrid of the naturalone?” he asks. “It has to be technicallysound, people have to want it, it hasto be environmentally sound and ithas to be well integrated.” That isindeed where he and his colleaguesare concentrating their efforts.

“What’s been compellingto me about AppliedScience is that it cantackle this very complexreframing of city-making,to leverage cross-scalesystems-based solutionsthat creatively integratethe best public policy,science, technologyand design upon whichexcellent sustainablecities depend.”

Ron Kellettis director of UBC’s School ofArchitecture and LandscapeArchitecture

RESEARCHBUILDS MYARCTICCOMMUNITY

Trevor Lucas, ashore here in Inuvik, Northwest Territories,has made nine voyages through Canadian Arctic waters asa marine wildlife observer aboard the Canadian researchicebreaker CCGS Amundsen. His notes and photos of bow-heads and belugas, of seals and polar bears and birds, arepart of a wide range of activities carried out annually onthe Amundsen, one of the best-equipped research vesselsin the world.

KEITH LEVESQUE

Half the world’s population relies on waterfrom cold regions. Global warmingis decreasing mountain snowpack andincreasing floods and droughts. Our waterfuture is at risk.

Since food grows where water flows,global water and food securitychallenges are closely intertwined.

The University of Saskatchewan is helping tosolve these daunting challenges through:

• global institutes for water and food securitythat put us at the forefront of innovation;

• funding totalling $180 million throughCanada First Research Excellence Fund(CFREF) programs and partners—the onlyuniversity awarded two CFREF grants;

• top talent, including Canada ExcellenceResearch Chairs in both food and watersecurity; and

• unique research facilities, such as theCanadian Light Source, funded by theCanada Foundation for Innovation.

WWiitthh tthhhhhhhheeeee sssssuuuuuppppppppppoooooorrrrrrtttttt ooooffff oouurrmmmmaaannnnyyyyy pppppaaaaarrttneers, tthhhheee UUUU ooooffff SSSSSSSis the pllaaaccccceeeee to leadd thhee ppppuuussshfor a more sssssuuuuustainablee aannnddddpprroossppeerroouuss ffffuuttuurrree ffoorrppeeooppllee iinn CCaannaaddddaaaaa aaannnnddddaarroouunndd tthhee wwoorlldd..

BBee ppaart of the solutiioonnn,,viissiitt rresearch.usaasskk..cccaa


Dr. Matthew Johnson and his team at the Energy and Emissions ResearchLab at Carleton University evaluate the impact of emissions from the oiland gas industry. SUPPLIED


WESTERN UNIVERSITY

Research strives to improve resilience and harnesswind’s power

What happens when a stormhits a city? How can the builtenvironment – including

buildings, structures and transmissionlines – better withstand the onslaughtof a strong gale? And how can windpower be harnessed for energy gen-eration in an urban setting?

These are among the questions be-ing explored at theWind Engineering,Energy and Environment ResearchInstitute (WindEEE RI) at WesternUniversity, says Horia Hangan, theinstitute’s director.

The objectives of boosting sustain-ability while building resilience are atthe heart of the research, he explains.

“With increasing extreme weatherevents, communities need to bemoreresilient and able to withstand highwinds and storms, for example. Butthey can also benefit from enhancedopportunities to usewind as an energysource,” says Dr. Hangan, who callsthe approach “making the best of theweather.”

WINDEE’s facilities, which havebeen supported with more than$12-million from the Canada Founda-tion for Innovation and include theworld’s first 3D testing chamber, arecapable of reproducing the dynamicsof real wind systems at large scalesand under controlled conditions. Byusing equipment that consists of amultitude of fans and louver systems,various wind patterns can be testedon a wide diversity of surface topog-raphies over areas in the order of tensof square kilometres.

This kind of research attracts atten-tion fromanumber of partners, amongthem the insurance industry,which hasan interest not only in what happensin a storm but also how to preparefor extreme weather. “We look at theeffect of climate change from a wind

perspective, and come upwith recom-mendations for building resiliency,”explains Dr. Hangan. “Our role reachesfrom the macro level to very specificinput on how specific structures willbehave.”

Feedback about how buildings,structures andmaterials performunderdifferent weather conditions is alsovaluable to partners like the manufac-turing, engineering and constructionindustries, says Dr. Hangan. “And weprovide input for building codes andguidelines for regulators from both in-dustry and government,” he explains.

There is a strong additional focus onbuilding the capacity of the wind ener-gy sector through technology develop-ment, says Dr. Hangan, and WindEEEresearchers have recently turned theirattention to assessing wind resourcesin complex urban environments.

“We are exploring regional meteo-rological patterns and how they informthe behaviour of wind in cities,” hesays. “Evaluating the performanceof buildings relative to wind can giveus information about how to makethem smarter and able to harnesswind energy.”

Since current wind turbines tech-nology does not provide the bestanswer for urban environments, newevidence points to opportunities forusing building envelopes – which canact asmembranes between theoutsideclimate and indoor environment – forcapturing both solar and wind energy,he says. “We are trying to convincecompanies to explore this new ap-proachof designing building envelopesthat can extract energy.”

Dr. Hangan adds that not all objectstested at the WindEEE Research Insti-tute are stationary. “We also look at

Evidence-based approach to boosting the energy sector’s environmental performance

Global energy demand is grow-ing and will continue to growin step with development

and industrialization. Currently,81 per cent of global energy is de-rived from fossil fuels, and new en-ergy sources coming online are stillmore likely to be fossil-fuel-basedthan renewable, says Matthew John-son, who leads the Energy andEmissions Research Lab at CarletonUniversity.

Dr. Johnson believes better meth-ods of extracting fossil fuels canplay an important role in addressinggreenhouse gas emissions and en-abling reduction strategies like theClean Development Mechanism proj-ects supported by the World Bank.And he sees quantifying emissionsas an important first step.

“Any kind of policy decision needsto be based on evidence,” explainsDr. Johnson, whose team is workingon experimentally backed practicalmodels for evaluating flare emis-sions from the oil and gas industry.

CARLETON UNIVERSITY

Flaring, the process of burning offunwanted gas at refineries and oil andgas drilling sites, has been identifiedas a substantial source of emissionsof carbon dioxide, black carbon andother pollutants. An estimated 140billion cubic metres of gas are flaredglobally each year, and Dr. Johnsonbelieves accurate measurements andpollutant inventories can pave thewaytoward effective mitigation strategies.

“The human eye is very unreliablewhen it comes to evaluating a flare,”he says, adding that camera-basedtechnology developed at Carletonmeasured a flare in Uzbekistan in2011. “Our measurements suggestedthat emissions from that single flareequalled that of 500 diesel buses run-ning 24/7.”

Since then, the technology hasbeen further refined, advancing thequantitative understanding of flare-generated emissions, according to Dr.Johnson.

While a number of countries, in-cluding Canada, have signed the Zero

Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative,which was introduced by the WorldBank and hopes to address routineflaring, Dr. Johnson says that “prog-ress has been disappointingly slow.”

Satellite images indicate discrep-ancies between actual and reportedflaring in some countries, he states.The FlareNet Strategic Network – anew network supported by a numberof industry and government partners,including the World Bank and theUnited Nations Climate and Clean AirCoalition – provides a platform forenabling the international communitytowork towardmeeting climate goals.

In addition to evaluating flares,Dr. Johnson and his team are workingon a range ofmeasures formaking theoil and gas industrymore sustainable,including curbing methane emis-sions from unregulated leaks, valves,pumps and storage tanks. “Our goalis to translate information from thelab to the field,” he says. “We need toinvest in solutions that make a dent inclimate change and air quality.”

At the WindEEE Research Institute, subjecting model urban environments to a variety of wind conditions can provide answers about cities’ resilienceand potential to harness wind power, says the institute’s director Dr. Horia Hangan (right). SUPPLIED

unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones,to see how they perform in difficultenvironments and under differentweather conditions. We think theywill play a vital role in the surveillanceof infrastructure, among other things,so it’s important that we improve thecontrol of these machines.”

The institute is also a place forconducting pure research – explor-atory projects that advance scientificunderstanding. “We are trulymultidis-ciplinary and international in reach,“says Dr. Hangan, “and we touch bothfundamental and applied research.”

Thinking beyond what is already possible. Finding new waysto interact with information anytime, anywhere. And bydeveloping technology that helps us decipher data fast

and in a more collaborative way— changinghow the world’s educators teach, doctors diagnose

and emergency personnel respond to disasters.

Dr. Pourang Irani, Canada Research Chair in UbiquitousAnalytics, and his team at the Human-Computer

Interaction Lab are pioneers in this emerging field.

They bring to life the wearable technologies andhologram projection tools of tomorrow.With expertise

and imagination, they are shaping the future.

Readmore at news.umanitoba.ca/innovation

TRANSFORMINGOURDIGITALWORLD



SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Turning ‘incredible science’ into real-life solutions

When it comes to solving hu-manity’s most intractableproblems – like climate

change, economic inequality andfood insecurity – scientific research isthe single greatest source of optimism.

At Simon Fraser University (SFU)in B.C., research infrastructure fund-ing from the Canada Foundation forInnovation (CFI) has exponentiallyincreased the potential to meet these

challenges, says Joy Johnson, SFU’svice-president research and internation-al. “It has enabled us to get the toolsneeded into our researchers’ hands tohelp them stay at the cutting edges oftheir fields, move their fields forwardand develop incredible science.”

“There is a real commitment tofundamental research here – and toharnessing this research to make adifference in theworld through knowl-

Access to advanced research computing a must for modern-day innovation

In the not-so-distant past, accessto advanced research comput-ing (ARC) platforms capable of

crunching big numbers and runningcomplex simulations was a luxuryconfined to the few and the lucky,but in today’s fast-paced world of re-search and discovery it is increasinglyseen as a necessity. From climatechange to the sudden emergenceof virulent infectious diseases, re-searchers are facing a dizzying ar-ray of rapidly evolving challenges.Now, researchers have access to thekinds of computer tools they needto address these challenges, saysCompute Canada president and CEOMark Dietrich.

In partnership with regional or-ganizations such as ACENET, Cal-cul Québec, Compute Ontario and

COMPUTE CANADA

WestGrid, Compute Canada, whichis funded by the Canada Foundationfor Innovation and allocates resourcesbased on a merit-based annual exer-cise, is making ARC systems, includ-ing storage and software solutions,affordable and available to Canadianresearchers and their collaboratorsin a wide range of academic andindustrial sectors. And to facilitatesuccess, users get assistance usingthe system from a team of more than200 experts employed by 34 partneruniversities and research institutionsacross the country.

“This system allows researchers torun thousands and even millions ofexperiments virtually that it wouldhave previously cost a fortune to doin a conventional lab setting, savingyears, maybe decades of research

time, which is crucial when facingthe kinds of challenges confrontingCanada and the global community,”says Mr. Dietrich.

Currently, the national ARC plat-form is being used by as many as10,000 researchers, including 2,500faculty, working on a staggeringarray of projects. These include anoceanographer at Dalhousie Uni-versity using the system to projectwhat oceanic conditions will be like50 or even 100 years in the future,and a computational scientist atMcGill conducting virtual manu-facturing studies. “You can test atheory in an afternoon that wouldhave taken a month 15 years ago,”says Axel Becke, a theoretical andcomputational chemist at Dalhousie.Engineers, astronomers, medical

researchers, business people, socialscientists and more are all breakingnew ground using the system. Andaccording to a recent study, ComputeCanada-enabled publications areseen to be well above both the worldand Canadian averages in terms ofscientific impact.

“This kind of infrastructure is inte-gral to modern-day innovation andcompetition,” says Mr. Dietrich. “Na-tions and economic unions aroundthe world are creating national strat-egies so they can use the power ofsupercomputing to drive their econo-mies and compete globally, andCanada is leading the way, giving re-searchers who rely on these servicesand infrastructure the opportunity tomake amazing discoveries and createrevolutionary new products.”

“Nations and economicunions around the worldare creating nationalstrategies so theycan use the power ofsupercomputing to drivetheir economies andcompete globally, andCanada is leading theway.”

Mark Dietrichis president and CEO of ComputeCanada

The SFU data storage hub (here under construction) is part of the infra-structure of advanced computing, storage and software solutions thataccelerate research and innovation. SUPPLIED

“There is a real commitmentto fundamental researchhere – and to harnessingthis research to make adifference in the worldthrough knowledgemobilization.”

Dr. Joy Johnsonis SFU’s vice-president research andinternational

edge mobilization. None of that workwould be possible without the enginethat is CFI,” says Dr. Johnson.

For example, at SFU’s 4D LABS, amaterials science facility focused onnanotechnology and developing newmaterials, the CFI-funded PrometheusProject enables researchers to partnerwith industry to solve key issues andcreate new materials in critical sec-tors such as solar energy and fuel celltechnology. Chemistry professor NeilBranda, Canada Research Chair inMaterials Science and 4D’s co-founder,leads a team that includes more than100 researchers from four B.C. univer-sities working with about 30 partnercompanies. A partnership with Nano-tech Security Corp. made it possible totranslate SFU researchers’ discoveryof nanostructures that give the bluemorpho butterfly its iridescent sheento the production of high-security 3Dnano-optic images on currency, docu-ments and goods.

When Nanotech was chosen toproduce a ticket that included theiranti-counterfeiting technology forthe Euro 2016 in France, they turnedto 4D’s Centre for Soft Materials, ledby chemistry professor Byron Gates.Using the centre’s nanofabrication,nano-imaging and photonics equip-ment, Nanotech created a hologramof the tournament’s mascot SuperVictor – one that was virtually impos-sible to counterfiet – for use in themanufacturing of the more than sixmillion tickets needed for the games.

SFU is also the lead institution for arecent CFI investment of $30-million inCompute Canada, a national advancedresearch computing platform. In part-nership with regional organizationsACENET, Calcul Québec, Compute On-tario and WestGrid, Compute Canadaco-ordinates access to advanced com-puting, storage and software solutionsto accelerate research and innovation.With access to massive pools of data,scientists will have an unprecedentedability to answer research questions,says Dr. Johnson.

In June of this year, SFU physicsprofessor and Compute Canada’s

chief science officer Dugan O’Neilreceived Compute Canada’s inauguralTrailblazer Award for bringing thepower of advanced research comput-ing to more than 10,000 scientists inengineering, natural sciences, health,social sciences and humanities. Be-ginning in 2003 as a beta tester ofWestGrid, Dr. O’Neil and his groupwent on to use big data computing tomake a breakthrough discovery aboutthe behaviour of the Higgs bosonparticle in 2012.

Along with research potential,infrastructure investment expandslearning opportunities for SFU’s stu-dents, says Dr. Johnson. “Training onthese tools and seeing the outcomesof this work inspires our students –and great research facilities attractgreat students and faculty, both na-tionally and internationally.”

Citizens of Calgary stand with their mayor, Naheed Nenshi,on the banks of the Bow River, the city’s primary source ofdrinking water. Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets, apartnership between the city and the University of Calgary,is researching wastewater treatment systems that couldhelp make drinking water safer and protect the ecologyof water bodies.

CHRIS BOLIN

RESEARCHBUILDS MYURBANCOMMUNITY

Since 1997, the Canadian Foundationfor Innovation (CFI) has strategicallyinvested in big research ideas thatmatter to Canadians.

Western University is proud to be animportant partner in this big thinking.

Over the past 20 years, CFI has investedmore than $177 million across 303 of ourresearch projects.

This commitment, combined withfunding from the Ontario Research Fund,and industry partners, has ensured ourresearchers have the right tools to advanceknowledge and tackle some of this country’smost complex problems.

Helping millions of Canadians sufferingfrom debilitating diseases, creating highperformance computer networks, buildingsustainable cities, and mitigating damagefrom natural disasters are but a few ofthe projects that have benefited from thisinvestment.

Western is grateful to the CFI and toCanadians for believing in the power ofresearch to deliver life-changing discoveries.

Celebrating 20 years of innovation



OPINION

Colleges and institutes collaborate with partners toadvance research, seek solutions

Q+A with Denise Amyot,President and CEO of Collegesand Institutes Canada

What is the place of colleges andinstitutes in Canada’s innovationecosystem?Canada’s colleges and institutes playan essential and growing role in ourcountry’s innovation ecosystem. Firstand foremost, they provide training tomaintain an “innovation-ready” work-force that is inclusive of all Canadians.They are mandated to respond to thelabour market, equipping studentswith the skills they’ll need tomaximizeemployment, self-employment andentrepreneurship opportunities.

Increasingly, this includes workingwith industry to provide, for example,the retraining people need to adapt tothe changes that technology bringsor move to new careers in emergingsectors that require a specializedwork-force. It also includes offering skillstraining to indigenous communitiesand newcomers who need to tailortheir experience and credentials tothe Canadian market. Colleges andinstitutes have also seen a tremendousgrowth in applied research activityover the last decade or so and are

directly contributing to Canadian in-novation in many areas.

How does applied research help fuelinnovation?Applied research is about solving real-world problems through the practicalapplication and commercialization ofleading-edge knowledge, expertise,methods and techniques. It enablesinnovation because it responds tothe immediate needs and short-termopportunities identified by industry,small business owners, entrepreneursand research users in both the publicand not-for-profit sectors. This allowsthem to produce new or improvedproducts and processes that will havea real impact on Canadians – and thatcan help us tackle some of the bigchallenges of our time, such as energyefficiency and climate change.

How important is collaboration tothe research generated at collegesand institutes?Collaboration is at the heart of ourapproach to applied research. Projectsare always done in collaboration withlocal partners looking for help in ad-dressing a specific issue. In the caseof small businesses that are part ofa supply chain or local cluster, theseresearch solutions often enable thesuccess of much larger firms who relyon their partners’ specialized exper-tise. In 2014-2015, Canadian collegesand institutes workedwith over 5,500private sector partners to developnew or adapted products, services,technology and processes. Eighty-sixper cent of these partners were SMEsor micro-enterprises who would nototherwise have access to the facilitiesand expertise required to conduct thiskind of research.

The federal government has hintedthat its next budget will be an ‘inno-vation budget.’ What does thatmeanfor colleges and institutes?We’re very pleased to see that thegovernment is taking a broad andinclusive approach to innovation andwe agree that it is crucial to invest

now to ensure Canada’s long-termprosperity. The links between inno-vation, productivity and long-termgrowth are abundantly clear. We rec-ognize that Canada is faced with anaging population and increasing globalcompetition. The government hasalready taken positive steps with itsPost-Secondary Institutions StrategicInvestment Fund, which will helpcolleges and institutes create the

critical infrastructure required to fuelinnovation. But there is still a lot todo. Increasing funding for appliedresearch, which still represents a tinyfraction – just 2.5 per cent – of theoverall federal research funding willcertainly be key. So will developingand maintaining an innovation-readyworkforce equipped to be competitivein our rapidly evolving and increas-ingly digital world.

Applied research enablesinnovation becauseit responds to theimmediate needs andshort-term opportunitiesidentified by industry,small business owners,entrepreneurs andresearch users in both thepublic and not-for-profitsectors.

Lights! Camera! Research!

When the work you’re doingin digital film research startsfinding application in the

work of acclaimed filmmakers such asPeter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings)and James Cameron (Titanic andTerminator) you know you’re on theright track. That’s certainly been thecase with Sheridan College’s ScreenIndustries Research and Training Cen-tre (SIRT), fast emerging as a leadingtechnology access centre for the filmindustry.

“Thanks in part to a significantgrant from the Canada Foundation forInnovation we have been able to notonly develop an industry-standard testand demonstration centre for digitalcinema research here at Sheridan,but also attract the kind of expertisethat allows us to work with indus-try partners on advanced technolo-gies used in the rapidly evolving andhighly competitive film, television andgaming sectors,” says SIRT director,strategic partnerships, John Helliker.The research is done in open coopera-tion with other research institutions,including York University’s Centre forVision Research, and industry partnerssuch as Christie Digital, which workswith heavy hitters like Cameron andJackson.

The Christie project, which is look-ing into increased frame-rate projec-tion, is particularly intriguing, partlybecause of its current utility to thefilm industry, but also its potentialfor applications in other areas. Film istypically shot at the rate of 24 framesper second, but what if you bumpedthat up to 48 or even 60 frames per

SHERIDAN COLLEGE

second? What kind of impact wouldthat have on viewers? Quite a lot, itturns out. “It reduces motion blur andallows you to get considerably moreinformation into a frame, enhancingthe audience experience,” says Mr.Helliker. The same technologies arefinding application in 3D as well as vir-tual and augmented reality situationsin vastly different fields. For example,Sheridan is also working with a majorhospital on ways in which virtual real-ity can be used to enhance the patientexperience, as well as a museumon making its exhibits and historicalexperiences come alive.

“We’re working with companies atthe forefront, companies that knowwhat the challenges are,” says Mr.Helliker. “They’re coming to us tohelp them find the solutions becausewe are able to engage with them onresearch and innovation they haveidentified as important to them asinternational players.”

It’s also attracting the attention ofstudents in other disciplines, adds Cin-dy Gillett, Sheridan’s director, Office ofApplied Research and Innovation, whosays research findings are incorporatedinto the curriculum at Sheridan for allstudents to benefit from. “Studentsfrom other areas, including socialsciences, computer programming,animation and gaming, realize thatwhen they graduate they’re going tobe working not only with the kinds ofcompanies we’re workingwith here atSIRT, but also researchers and innova-tors,” says Ms. Gillett. “Our programsand research centres prepare them todo just that.”

The technology available at Sheridan College’s Screen Industries Researchand Training Centre finds application in the film industry, as well as virtualand augmented reality situations in vastly different fields. SUPPLIED

BY THENUMBERS

Colleges andinstitutes

2,491faculty and staff(e.g. industrialexperts andtechnicians)engaged inapplied research

107have a dedicatedapplied researchdivision

670specializedresearch centresand labs wereidentified

1,083areas of researchspecializationwere reportedin naturalresources,energy,environment,health,information andcommunicationstechnologies,manufacturingand socialinnovation

85%havepartnershipswith universities

Source: Colleges andInstitutes Canada

RESEARCHBUILDS MYBUSINESSCOMMUNITY

Franziska Broell displays a wildlife tagging device she devel-oped as a doctoral student while working with DalhousieUniversity’s Ocean Tracking Network, a global researchplatform that tracks the movement of marine creaturesthrough the world’s oceans. Broell co-founded a companyin Halifax to commercialize the device; the enterprise is oneof many serving Atlantic Canada’s vibrant oceanographicresearch community.

DALE WILSON



UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA

Under the microscope: powerful tools buildbetter partnerships

Combine four powerful micro-scopes – which allow research-ers to penetrate a wide range of

materials to different levels and undervarious conditions – with world-classexpertise and you’ve got a formidablehub that attracts interest from a widerange of partners.

That’s the kind of momentum thathas been building since the switchwasturned on in January at the new facilityof the Manitoba Institute for Materials(MIM), says DerekOliver, the institute’sdirector. “We had everything hum-ming at the beginning of the calendaryear and we haven’t locked the doorsince then.”

It has been a busy – and stimulating– period, and the facility’s capabilitieshave made the MIM a go-to placenot only for established industry anduniversity partners, he says. “Obvi-ously, we attract a number of partnerswhosework lends itself directly to thisresearch, but for me, it is particularlyinteresting when people from differ-ent fields call us to explore how ourinstruments might help their work.”

Among the samples that have beenexamined with the facility’s micro-scopes are metal composites used inaerospace components, concrete andde-icing salt combinations, siliconmicro-wires tested for their ability togenerate hydrogen from water, andbiological tissue indicative of fetalalcohol syndrome.

“Rather than being tightly focusedon a particular cluster of industries orcompanies, we’re open to a highlyinterdisciplinary approach and wesee a lot of potential in the breadth ofpartnerships we’re creating,” says Dr.Oliver. “The great diversity of projectscoming into the facility is really, reallyexciting.”

It had been the ongoing collectiveactivity across five faculties – and astrong materials research presenceon campus – that underpinned thecase for turning the MIM, which wasformed in 2009 as a virtual institute,into a physical facility, he explains.And three new top-line electron mi-croscopes, plus a previously acquiredx-ray photoelectron spectrometer(XPS instrument), have contributedmuch to making the launch a bigsuccess.

“These four major instrumentsare complementary,” says Dr. Oliver.“Someone bringing a sample mightuse one, or two or three of them,and get slightly different informationfrom each.”

Of the two scanning electron mi-croscopes, one is an environmentalscanning electron microscope, whichhas a larger chamber and can be usedfor evaluating samples that are notconductive, such as biological or geo-logical samples, he says. “Since youcan vary the humidity in the chamber,you can look at salt recrystallization ina concrete crevice to help understandwhy concrete does or doesn’t crackin winter.”

With the other scanning electronmicroscope – a high-resolutionscanning electron microscope orNanoSEM – details the size of one-thousandth of the width of a humanhair are visible, which is useful forshedding light on the intersection oftwo pieces of metal that are weldedtogether, says Dr. Oliver. “For scien-tists and engineers, it is importantto understand what goes on in theprocess of welding, what it looks likeonce it solidifies and what it tells usabout the effectiveness of the weld.”

With the third new instrument, atransmission electron microscope, abeam of electrons is passed througha sample, enabling the observationof individual atoms – and their ar-rangement – at a detailed level,says Dr. Oliver. He sees this top-linemicroscope, which is currently theonly one in Canada, as an excitingresource for the region. In addition,the XPS instrument provides userswith information about the surfacechemistry of materials.

Operating these instruments re-quires training and expertise, saysDr. Oliver. “We have a commitmentto run a course for undergraduateand graduate students, to give themhands-on experience with this sort ofinfrastructure as part of their learn-ing.”

The combination of tools and ex-pertise provides fertile ground forresearch collaborations, bringing to-gether partners from the CompositesInnovation Centre, the university’sfaculty of agriculture and the depart-

The combination of tools and expertise at the Manitoba Institute forMaterials provides fertile ground for research collaborations, says Dr.Derek Oliver (top). SUPPLIED

ment of biosystems engineering, forexample. “Research in this field looksat utilizing what would otherwise beleft behind on the fields after the har-vest,” says Dr. Oliver, adding that theidea of making composite materialswith natural fibres is of great interestin a region with a large agriculturalsector.

Interdisciplinary collaborations –and the MIM in general – do not onlylook for better and stronger materials,they also strengthen the researchcommunity and the region, saysDr. Oliver. “For a hub like Winnipeg,supporting and enhancing the capa-bility of a range of sectors is essentialfor our long-term sustainability.”

“Rather than being tightlyfocused on a particularcluster of industries orcompanies, we’re open toa highly interdisciplinaryapproach and we seea lot of potential in thebreadth of partnershipswe’re creating. The greatdiversity of projectscoming into the facility isreally, really exciting.”

Dr. Derek Oliveris the director of the ManitobaInstitute for Materials

RESEARCHBUILDS MYHEALINGCOMMUNITY

Breast cancer survivors and cherished friends (from left) MaryChow-Humphries, Kara Horsman, Alana van Dam, YvonneEng, Julie Donegan, Ling Takara, Christine Gaio and SharonShum, became each other’s support network after participat-ing in a study on the effects of exercise on recovery frombreast cancer. The research was conducted at the Universityof British Columbia.

BEN NELMS

Creativity isn’t just for artistsanymore. Partner with Sheridanand use our Creative Campusfor prototypes, feasibilitystudies, commercializationstrategies and skills upgrading.

research.sheridancollege.ca

Turn ideas intoinnovations.



Particle research aims to predict the universe’s pastand future

Researchers in nuclear and par-ticle physics at the Universityof Victoria (UVic) are looking

at the smallest of things so theycan answer some of the biggest ofquestions about where the universecame from and where it might begoing. Nuclear and particle physicsresearch takes place on a global scaleinvolving a multitude of internationalpartners. Within that community, UVicis helping Canada build on its leader-ship role through the development ofworld-class research facilities and high-performance computing technologiesused to store, access and analyzemas-sive pools of data. These are the kindsof endeavours that attract some of thebest and brightest.

UVic’s Rob McPherson currentlyserves as deputy spokesperson forthe ATLAS experiment at the CERNLarge Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzer-land. Inside the LHC, two high-energyparticle beams are made to traveltowards each other at close to thespeed of light before colliding. Whenthey do, it opens a window into thepast. “The kinds of things that happenare similar to what occurred just afterthe Big Bang, a time when everythingwas energy and there was nomatter,”says Dr. McPherson. “It’s excitingbecause it allows us to explore thisfundamental point in the history ofthe universe.” To date, Canada hasinvested $135-million in the projectand has also designed and built keycomponents, including calorimetersthat measure the direction and energyof particles produced in the collisions.UVic researchers are leaders in devel-oping the cloud computing resourcesused to analyze the complex data theLHC produces.

Here in Canada, UVic’s Dean Karlenis heading up ARIEL, an offshoot ofTRIUMF, a national subatomic physicsresearch laboratory located near theUniversity of British Columbia. ARIELwill produce rare isotopes that canbe used to study the nature of stars,where the elements come from andthe way in which complex patternsarise from relatively simple buildingblocks. They also have a very practi-cal side. Isotopes are used to develop

University of Victoria researchers Dr. Dean Karlen (top left, in front of the ARIEL building) and Dr. Rob McPherson (bottom left) are teaming up withinternational colleagues for particle research conducted at the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (right). LEFT, JEFF VINNICK; RIGHT, © CERN

At the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Research in Photonics, Dr. Pierre Berini and Dr. Karin Hinzer are leadingresearch efforts in areas including disease detection and solar energy. SUPPLIED

sophisticated medical imaging toolsthat can better detect and treat dis-ease. They’re also used to selectivelydestroy cancerous tumours, leading tobetter patient outcomes. “It’s fulfillingwork because of the way it allows usto push the boundaries of knowledgeand understanding, but also becauseof the people; doing this kind of workis transformative for those involved,”says Dr. Karlen.

For Iris Dillman, being an astrophysi-cist was Plan B. “I originally wanted tobe an astronaut,” says the UVic adjunctprofessor who has been working atTRIUMF for three years. Nowadays, Dr.Dillman is using nuclear astrophysicsto study the building blocks of theelements – the isotopes – that are

produced in stars, including our ownsun. She’s investigating how longthese isotopes live and how they de-cay, and how all this “star stuff” makesup anything and everything from theuniverse and planets to human beingsand toaster ovens. “We’re able to bringstars and star explosions into the lab,”she explains.

“The contributions researchers likethis are making to knowledge can-not be underestimated,” says DavidCastle, UVic’s vice-president research.“There is deep science involved thatanswers fundamental questions, andthere are immediate applications forthe rare isotopes being created thathave an important role to play inmedical and material science,” he

says. “We also believe there’ll beconsiderable downstream potential interms of commercial opportunities forthose who work and study in the labsbut go on to work in commercial andindustrial sectors.”

UVic has also been selected as oneof four hub sites for the national ad-vanced computing research networkoffering systems, storage and softwaresolutions to researchers in a multitudeof fields across Canada. “All of theseinitiatives are helping build globalknowledge networks, acceleratingthe development and commercializa-tion of new technology andmaterials,attracting and training young research-ers, and helping Canada stay globallycompetitive,” says Dr. Castle.

“Doing this kind of workis transformative for thoseinvolved.”

Dr. Dean Karlenis heading up ARIEL, an offshootof TRIUMF, a national subatomicphysics research laboratory locatednear the University of BritishColumbia

Science of light transforms modern life

The international stature of theUniversity of Ottawa’s photon-ics research is illustrated by the

establishment of the Max Planck-Uni-versity of Ottawa Center for Extremeand Quantum Photonics.

In the scientific world, associa-tion with the German-based MaxPlanck Society is among the highestof honours.

“We are one of only three MaxPlanck centres in North America andit’s a very prestigious designation,”says Sylvain Charbonneau, associ-ate vice-president, research, at theUniversity of Ottawa. “And it’s veryexciting because it opens up newpartnershipswith the best researchersin the world.”

Many of the world’s best research-ers in photonics – the science andengineering of light – are, in fact,based at the university’s Centrefor Research in Photonics (CRPuO).“We have developed into a globallyrecognized powerhouse in the fieldof photonics across a broad rangeof applications,” says Dr. Charbon-neau, who notes that the scientific

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

mass spectrometer, which is used toanalyze radioisotopes.

Photonics applications are behindmany current and evolving technolo-gies touching virtually all aspects ofmodern life – from communicationsand entertainment systems to innova-tive uses in biology, medicine, quan-tum computing, energy generationand environmental sensing.

“People say that just as the 20thcentury was the century of electron-

team includes one Canada ExcellenceResearch Chair, 13 Canada ResearchChairs and four University ResearchChairs.

The CRPuO is housed at the Ad-vanced Research Complex, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2014.With support from the Canada Foun-dation for Innovation and other part-ners, this research hub is equippedwith the latest research technology,including Canada’s only accelerator

ics, this century will be the centuryof photonics,” says Dr. Charbonneau.

Among the scientists pushing theenvelope by harnessing the powerof light is Pierre Berini, UniversityResearch Chair in Surface PlasmonPhotonics and the director of theCRPuO. He is investigating usinglight to create biosensors capableof detecting specific diseases (forexample, leukemia or HIV) in bloodor other fluid samples from a patient.

“Biosensors hold much promisefor enhancing health care,” says Dr.Berini. “We’re working on sensorsthat will allow quicker detection ofdisease, for example, at a patient’sbedside. The goal is also to createbiosensors that are much more sen-sitive than current lab techniques,so that we can diagnose and beginto treat cancer, for example, muchearlier in the disease process.”

Another exciting photonics re-search area is solar energy. KarinHinzer leads the research team atSUNLAB, the University of Ottawa’ssolar research facility.

“Photonics has a huge role toplay in Canada’s ongoing energyleadership, now that we are movingtowards a post-carbon economy,” Dr.Hinzer says.

“We apply photonics to the de-velopment of new materials andnew designs for the production ofmore efficient and lower-cost solarpanels that can operate well aspart of an electricity grid, in manydifferent conditions and levels ofsunlight.”

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA



UNIVERSITIES CANADA

Why we need to invest in discovery research

More than any other activitythat relies on governmentand private sector funding

for its livelihood, research is the keyto solving some of our biggest globalchallenges, from environmental deg-radation to food security – and yet,it’s most vulnerable to cutbacks.

This is especially worrisome topeople like Universities Canada presi-dent Paul Davidson: he has witnessedCanada rise from obscurity during the1990s to become a globally recog-nized research leader – only to see

this status steadily diminish as politi-cians and corporate leaders turn theirattention to other matters.

“We’re now ranked 24th in theworld in terms of how much wespend on research compared to ourgross domestic product,” he says.“A far cry from being 12th in 2001– which in itself was a struggle toachieve.”

As the Canada Foundation for Inno-vation celebrates its 20th anniversaryand a relatively new federal govern-ment settles in, Mr. Davidson cites

One of the examples of Canadian research that has had a big global impact was the discovery by Dr. ArthurMcDonald, particle physicist and professor emeritus at Queen’s University, that neutrinos (subatomic particles) dohave mass. Dr. McDonald won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015 for his work. BERNARD CLARK AND QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY

“Even in our diminishedstate, Canada representsonly 0.5 per cent of theworld’s population butproduces five per cent ofthe world’s cited research.We can’t let the advanceswe’ve made slide away.”

Paul Davidsonis president of Universities Canada

several examples of how Canadian re-search is making an important impact.

The first is Queen’s University pro-fessor emeritus Arthur McDonald,who discovered that neutrinos (sub-atomic particles) from the sun don’tdisappear on their way to Earth andinstead change identities – meaningthey have mass.

Dr. McDonald won the Nobel Prizein Physics in 2015 for his work, andthe new understanding of neutrinoswill reportedly tell us about the farreaches of the universe and even theinner workings of our own sun.

Another example is the CanadianLight Source facility at the Universityof Saskatchewan, whichmost recentlydeveloped a new way to make medi-cal isotopes – which addresses theneed for a reliable supply in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the University of Sas-katchewan recently undertook re-

search to create a global resource forfarmers seeking to develop new cropvarieties at unprecedented speed andscale.

Mr. Davidson notes that while theprevious government supported re-search, “other countries investedmuchmore, and faster, hence our cur-rent standing.” However, he is hopefulthe current leadership will take stockof the issue through a science reviewcurrently underway and to whichUniversities Canada has contributed.

“We need to invest in discoveryresearch. We need a better circulationof ideas between public and privatesectors,” he says.

“Even in our diminished state, Cana-da represents only 0.5 per cent on theworld’s population but produces fiveper cent of the world’s cited research.We can’t let the advances we’vemadeslide away.”

RESEARCHBUILDS MYCHILDREN’SCOMMUNITY

Samantha Knapp sits with her daughters Sienna and Saige.Sienna (right) has a rare genetic disorder that causes severeseizures in newborns and infants. Until recently, very littlewas known about this condition. With the help of researchand many doctors, including at the Children’s Hospital ofEastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, the Knappfamily was able to find the genetic root of the illness. It wasthe piece of information they needed to not only managethe disease, but also to find a community of support amongparents going through similar situations.

SABRINA DANIEL

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