Speakers who provided biographies:
Mark Badger
Mark Badger has worked with leading firms in the North American plastic and chemical industries, including Royal Group Technologies, BF Goodrich Corporation and Georgia Gulf Corporation. He has held senior management positions in the fields of marketing, corporate development, finance and communications. During the past two years he served as President and CEO of The Canadian Plastics Industry Association, leading the turnaround of the association and focusing the organization on initiatives to recover greater amounts of plastic packaging post-use by consumers.
Miriam Leia Bekkouche
Miriam is the Innovation Officer at the Canadian Consulate General in New York City where she leads on a number of innovation initiatives including in technology and venture capital.. She has been with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada since 2006. In 2008, she joined the Innovation, Science and Technology Division where she was the lead officer on Canada’s bilateral S&T relationship with partners in the Americas, particularly Brazil and Chile. It is during this assignment that she developed a passion for supporting and promoting Canadian innovations.
Miriam graduated from McGill University with a BA in Honours Political Science and from the College of Europe with an MA in European Studies and Public Administration. She speaks English, French and Spanish, and is learning Portuguese.
Augustin Brais
Augustin Brais is an engineer (Polytechnique, B.Eng., mechanical engineering, 1973, M.Eng., nuclear engineering, 1976). Consultant, research associate, then assistant-director at the Nuclear Engineering Institute (Polytechnique) from 1980 to 1987, he then becomes project manager at SIRICON (Concordia University) from 1987 to 1989. Back at École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989, he joins the Centre de développement technologique (CDT), and becomes, in 1997, director of the Bureau de la recherche et Centre de développement technologique (BRCDT). The BRCDT is responsible for University/Industry liaison, for the administration of grant R&D activities, industry R&D partnership activities, and technology commercialization, representing, in 2010, a total of about 51 M$ per year in R&D, of which about 45% are industry contributions, in addition to about 20 M$ in research infrastructures development projects. In 2011, he becomes deputy director, Direction Recherche et Innovation, responsible, in particular, for a partnership development unit at École Polytechnique.
Augustin Brais has also been president of the « Groupe de travail des BLEUs (CREPUQ) [Bureaux de Liaison Université-Entreprise, Conférence des Recteurs et principaux de Universités du Québec] ». He is currently member of the Board of ACCT-Canada (Association for the Commercialisation of Canadian Technologies), of the CTGN (Centre des Technologies du Gaz Naturel) and of CEGEP de Saint-Hyacinthe. He has been member of the board of the Centre de caractérisation microscopique des matériaux (CM2) and of Centre Prototech, two corporations associated with Polytechnique.
He is frequently asked to deliver presentations and training sessions on research administration, technology transfert and university-industry relations, in Canada and abroad, for example at Réseau Curie (Forum Franco-Québécois sur la Valorisation, Paris, 2005), at the French Senate (Tremplin-Recherche, Paris, 2006), in Ivory Coast (Atelier régional OMPI, Abidjan, 2008), at ACCT (2008) and at ACFAS (Association Canadienne Française pour l’Avancement des Sciences, Ottawa, 2009).
École Polytechnique de Montréal is one of Canada’s largest engineering schools (or faculties) with nearly 6700 students (including 1700 graduate students) and 220 professors (90% active researchers). It is one of the firsts in R&D. It is affiliated with Université de Montréal.
Tania Bubela
Dr. Tania Bubela has been an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the School of Public Health since 2008 and holds an appointment as adjunct assistant professor in the School of Business. Dr. Bubela holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree (1988) from the Australian National University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1995) from the University of Sydney, Australia. In addition, she earned a Bachelor of Laws (Gold Medalist) degree (2003) from the University of Alberta. After gaining her law degree, Dr. Bubela clerked for the Honourable Louise Arbour at the Supreme Court of Canada. Her doctoral research was in the biological sciences and she taught biology and genetics as a faculty member at the University of Toronto at Mississauga. From 2004-2008, she was an assistant professor at the School of Business, University of Alberta.
Dr. Bubela’s empirically-grounded research program focuses on policy, legal, and ethical issues in health biotechnology, including technology transfer practices and the impact of intellectual property on the research environment.
Janet Campbell
Janet Campbell is Director, Intellectual Property; Secretary to the Board of Directors and Legal Counsel for the Eclipse Foundation. The Eclipse Foundation is a not-for-profit, member supported corporation that hosts Eclipse open source projects and helps cultivate both an open source community and an ecosystem of complementary products and services. In her capacity Janet provides legal guidance to the Foundation and oversees the review of material proposed for inclusion in Eclipse distributions.
Janet is a member of the Ontario bar and holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and Law Degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Jean Charest
Jean Charest is a Professor of industrial relations at L’Universite de Montreal. He is a researcher at the Interuniversity research centre on Globalization and Work. Dr. Charest is a member of the Canadian center for European and German studies and was a member of Quebec’s commission on adult education and continuous learning. He has published extensively in the areas of industrial relations and workplace training and holds a PhD from Laval.
Mohamed Cheriet
Prof. Mohamed Cheriet received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI) in 1985 and 1988 respectively. Since 1992, he has been a professor in the Automation Engineering department at the École de Technologie Supérieure (University of Quebec), Montreal, and was appointed full Professor there in 1998. Prof. Cheriet is the founder and director of Synchromedia which targets multimedia communication in telepresence applications. Computational intelligence is one of the many areas of expertise of Prof. Cheriet that benefits the Consortium, providing Synchromedia’s expertise in advanced open overlay self-scaling network architecture based on distributed and virtualized resources and the grid computing paradigm. Dr. Cheriet is the Lead of the GreenStar Network (GSN) project, the world’s first initiative for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from information and communication technology (ICT) services. He is a senior member of the IEEE, and the founder and former Chair of the IEEE Montreal Chapter of Computational Intelligent Systems (CIS).
Richard Cloutier
Mr. Cloutier was recently (October 2011) named President and CEO at CQVB, an intermediation and tech transfer organisation for the bioindustry in Quebec. BioIndustries include the Human Health Sector, Bioproduct, AgriFood and Marine Biotechnologies.
Mr. Cloutier has been active in the Life Sciences industry over the last 25 years, acting mainly as President and CEO, investment manager and research professional. He acquired a good expertise in tech transfer, start-ups, international business deals and financial strategies, mainly in Europe. Mr. Cloutier received a B.Sc in biochemistry from Sherbrooke University and a MBA from Laval University. He was the founder and CEO of Gelkem for near 10 years, a private biopharmaceutical company involved in drug delivery systems.
Mr. Cloutier is assistant teaching professor at Laval University for the pharmaceutical MBA program, specializing in startup companies and tech transfer, and is also a board member of different organizations and private corporations. He was part of numerous international projects in tech transfer particularly with China, Israel, France and an important multilevel project with 7 other countries primarily in Europe and United States.
Sylvain Cofsky
Sylvain Cofsky joined GARDN in August 2009 as Network Manager and became its Executive Director in May 2011.
Previously, he was with the Canadian Space Agency as Innovation and Research Advisor for the Life and Physical Sciences. Before that, for more than 5 years, Sylvain Cofsky was, as the Director General of NanoQuébec, an organization created by the Canadian and Quebec governments, a key player in the structuration of the nanotechnology sector in Quebec. He was instrumental in negotiating an agreement signed in 2008 between NanoQuébec and the Aerospace industry. Finally he has worked for more than 10 years in France, where he hold different positions related on economic development strategies.
Mr. Cofsky obtained his undergraduate degree from the École des Hautes Études Commerciales of Montreal in 1990 and a Masters degree in Science from the Université de Montréal in 1993.
Sorin Cohn
Dr. Sorin Cohn is the Chief Program Officer of i-Canada and the CATA leader of the Commercialization study. He has 35 years international business & technology experience having been involved in most facets of “innovation development”: from idea to lab prototype, from product to market success on the global stage. Most recently, he was Managing Director EMEA for Terawave – a California optical access company. As co-founder and President Global Portfolio of OrbitIQ – a global business accelerator, Sorin has been working with technology companies in North America and Europe to build their market strength. In 2000 he founded Wireless Multimedia Solutions in North Carolina. Prior to 2000, Sorin held executive positions with Nortel Networks in Wireless, Enterprise Networks and Carrier Networks. Sorin was Director for Exploratory Programs at BNR. He has several essential patents in web services, wireless and digital signal processing, as well as over 70 publications and presentations. In parallel, during the 80’s, Dr. Cohn-Sfetcu has been Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa. A Killam Scholar, he received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, an M.Sc in Physics and an M.Eng in Engineering Physics.
Isabelle Deschamps
Isabelle Deschamps started her career as an engineer from 1977 to 1982, in companies such as Hydro-Quebec, Stelco and Alcan. She has been a Professor at HEC-Montreal from 1988 to 1996, and developed training programs – at the Ministère de l’Industrie, du Commerce, de la Science et de la Technologie, at the National Research Council of Canada. At ÉTS, she has been involved in the development of courses in Technology Management, Innovation and Strategy since 1996, first in the PhD in Engineering, and more recently, since March 2007, as the founding Director of the Master Program in Management of Innovation, and as the founding Director of ETS’s Center for professional training, Cité-ETS. She was also involved in specialized industrial assignments in Intellectual Property Management and Open innovation with companies such as Alcan, Hydro-Quebec/IREQ, and a spin-off of Noranda, 5N+, and with the Conseil de la Science du Québec, Développement Économique Canada, AéroMontréal.
Prior to her recent assignment at ÉTS, from 1996 to 2007, Mrs. Deschamps has devoted her professional time exclusively to supporting, coaching and financing start-up and pre start-up companies, first as Vice-President from 1996 to 2001 of Inno-centre, a technological incubator; secondly as Vice-president and Partner of Capimont, a private venture capital group involved in early-stage financing. She sits on Boards of provincial and federal agencies created for the purpose of supporting innovation : the Science and Technology Council; the Canadian Technology Network (CTN) for Innovation-Quebec, the Association de la recherche industrielle du Québec (ADRIQ), the National Research Council of Canada – Industrial Research Assistance Program (CNRC-IRAP), the Advisory Board of Industrial Chairs at NSERC, Cefrio, TechnoMontréal, Centre québécois de recherche et de développement de l’aluminium, Alcoa Innovation. She has been recently an Advisor to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and to the Federal Partners in Technology Transfer. She is a Metallurgical Engineer for École Polytechnique, and she holds an MBA from HEC-Montreal and a DBA in Innovation Management from Harvard.
Charles Deguire
Charles Deguire founded Kinova with Louis-Joseph Caron L’Écuyer. These two passionate, inspiring and visionary young engineers from ETS launched Kinova, located in the heart of Montréal, to develop, manufacture and market robotic products specifically intended for people with various physical disabilities. Motivated and inspired by his inventive uncle, who passed away in 1993, Charles Deguire took up his robotic arm idea and elaborated on it.
Thus was born JACO. Launched in 2009, JACO is a six-axis robotic manipulator arm with a three-fingered hand. This little marvel of engineering significantly improves the lives of persons with reduced mobility. The JACO arm makes life easier for these people by giving them greater freedom and independence. Quick to be noticed for its exceptional qualities, Kinova’s innovation soon garnered awards and bursaries. Among them, first prize in the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest, technological and technical category – local level, as well as the award for most innovative project in the BDC Enterprise national Competition.
Building on its success, Kinova intends to pursue and further its research and development of products with local and international partners in Europe and Asia, and to implement an “open innovation” approach to collaboration in both the scientific and commercial spheres.
Denis Faubert
General Manager of Hydro-Québec’s research institute (IREQ) since February 2007, Dr. Faubert has extensive experience in managing R&D and technological innovation. Prior to joining IREQ, he was Director General of R&D Programs for Defence R&D Canada at the Canadian Department of National Defence. He holds a doctorate in laser physics and is the author of a large number of technical papers and presentations on lasers, optical and microwave sensors and remote sensing systems. He has been recognized for his managerial skills and is the recipient of numerous prizes for scientific leadership. Dr. Faubert sits on many national and international bodies, including CIGRE, an international organization dealing with the engineering of large electrical systems, the International Electric Research Exchange, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Committee on Research Partnerships, the Center of Excellence for Energy Efficiency, INO, SOVAR, an organization responsible for technology transfer of university research result and a few others.
Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher, as Executive Vice President of new venture creation, is responsible for new venture creation. He currently manages multiple assets within the portfolio and is responsible for government and University outreach programs globally. In addition, Andrew run’s the Mitel Affiliate program that is responsible for identifying and commercializing gaps in existing portfolio investments. He co-founded NewHeights Software Corporation, sold in 2007, where he managed all Service Provider, large enterprise, and vertical market accounts.
Leveraging Wesley Clover’s global technology portfolio of over a dozen companies, Andrew spearheads the corporation’s solutions strategies which reach from the network’s core to the end user experience, incorporating Voice-over-IP, IPTV, Unified Communications and IP Multimedia Subsystem technologies.
Andrew has an academic background in both economics and computer science and engineering and is a graduate of the University of British Columbia. Previous to Wesley Clover, Andrew has held production roles within the Canadian Department of National Defense and Natural Resources Canada
Kevin Fitzgibbons
Kevin Fitzgibbons is the Director of the Innovation, Science and Technology Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Previous to joining the Department in August 2007, Kevin was the Executive Director of the Office of the National Science Advisor. From 1991 to 2004 Kevin worked as a strategic planning and policy analyst at the National Research Council of Canada. He has a Master’s degree in Political Economics from l’Université de Montréal.
Kevin Fitzgibbons est Directeur de la direction d’innovation, science et technologie au Ministère des affaires étrangères et du Commerce international.
Avant de se joindre au ministère en 2007, M. Fitzgibbons a agit comme directeur exécutif du Bureau du Conseiller national des sciences entre 2004 et 2007. Entre 1991 et 2004 M. Fitzgibbons a occupé plusieurs postes au Conseil national des recherches Canada dans les domaines de la planification stratégique et de l’élaboration des politiques en innovation. Il a un diplôme de maitrise en science politique (économie politique) à l’Université de Montréal.
Ron Freedman
Ron Freedman is a Partner in THE IMPACT GROUP, a Toronto-based consulting company specializing in science and technology policy, communication and marketing. Ron is also Publisher of RE$EARCH MONEY, Canada’s leading science policy newsletter, and Canada Research Horizons, the magazine of federal S&T. Born in Toronto, he has worked in the fields of science and technology policy and communications for nearly 35 years, in the public and private sectors. Ron’s graduate education was in the fields of environmental studies, adult education and science policy. He is also President of Research Infosource Inc., a business intelligence firm which publishes Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List, Canada’s Top 100 R&D Companies List and Canada’s Top 40 Research Universities List. Finally, Ron manages the Innovation Atlas of Canada.
Chad Gaffield
Chad Gaffield, one of Canada’s foremost historians, was appointed president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in September 2006. As president of SSHRC, he has helped define a new model of innovation that places understanding about people—human thought and behavior—at its core, and that reaffirms the contributions of social sciences and humanities research to our economy and quality of life.
Gaffield came to SSHRC from the University of Ottawa, where he held a University Research Chair and was the founding director of the Institute of Canadian Studies. Chad Gaffield received his PhD from the University of Toronto.
Denis J. Garand
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Associate professor at Université Laval (Québec City), Dr. Garand holds a Ph.D. from Metz U. (France, 1999) and M.Sc. from UQTR (1992). He has given since 1990 numerous lectures in academic and professional meetings, published peer-reviewed articles and research reports. Congress organizer, CCSBE President (2002-03), former AIREPME and ASAC board member, reviewer for various conferences and journals, he is Associate Editor at “Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship – JSBE” and “Revue internationale P.M.E. – RIPME”. His research interests include HRM in SMEs (highly-qualified personnel), entrepreneurial vision, intent and strategies, cross-campus entrepreneurship education and coaching in UK, in Western Europe and North-America.
Since 2002, he has created and implemented the Entrepreneurial Profile at Laval U., giving undergraduates enrolled in 40 programs the opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial competences and realistic project before they graduate. As an intrapreneur in the academia and an entrepreneur in the private sector, he always maintains strong ties with the entrepreneurial life of his students and research subjects. As visiting professor in 2010 at Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland) and at Guadalajara (México), he started sharing with several institutions his expertise in developing entrepreneurship among all disciplines.
Until 2015, he will be leading a major innovative pilot study (1.2M$) funded by Genome Canada, Genome Québec, several institutional and private partners: Boosting Entrepreneurial Skills & Training: BEST in genomics!
Frank Gleeson
An experienced entrepreneur, VC and biomedical executive, Frank Gleeson has been involved in Canada’s life sciences sector since its emergence. As a Senior Vice-President and Partner with MDS Capital Corp. during the 1990’s, he created a dozen biomedical companies, recruiting teams and syndicating over $250 million in financings. More recently, he co-founded Verio Therapeutics with Dr. Michael Rudnicki based on the ‘big idea’ that pharmacological agents could activate the body’s innate stem cells to treat disease. In 2010, Verio’s novel protein therapeutics were acquired by Fate Therapeutics, an award winning leader in the stem cell space. Frank now serves as President of Fate’s Canadian subsidiary Destin Therapeutics. Past-Chair of the Board of the Stemcell Network of Canada, Frank holds B.B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from York University in Toronto.
Richard Gold
Dr. Richard Gold is a James McGill Professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Law where he was the founding Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy. He is President of The Innovation Partnership, a non-profit organisation focusing on building skill and developing strategy with respect to scientific innovation, particularly in developing countries. He teaches in the area of intellectual property and innovation. His research centers on the nexus between innovation, development and commerce, with an emphasis on the life sciences. Professor Gold has provided advice to Health Canada, Industry Canada, the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (where he was the lead author of the OECD Guidelines on the Licensing of Genetic Inventions and a report on Collaborative Mechanisms in Life Science Intellectual Property), the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization and UNITAID. His research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Genome Canada, the National Centres for Excellence, Genome Canada, and the National Institutes of Health. He is a Research Associate at the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta and was a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute. His research has been published in high-impact journals in science, law, philosophy, international relations including Nature Biotechnology, The Lancet, PLoS Medicine, the McGill Law Journal, Public Affairs Quarterly and the European Journal for International Relations.
Sanjay Goorachurn
Sanjay Goorachurn has almost 20 years of experience in providing strategic advice on intellectual property management and leveraging IP assets in IP-related transactions, such as licensing, financing and M&A, in a practical and business-driven approach. He has worked in both industry and the private sector, and he usually represents investors (venture capital and private equity) and innovative companies in different industries and technologies globally.
Micheline Gravelle
Micheline Gravelle is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP and heads the firm’s biotechnology and pharmaceutical practice group. Micheline is a patent agent registered to act before the Canadian and United States Patent Offices. Micheline’s practice includes preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications worldwide, conducting due diligence on patent portfolios and assessing new technologies.
Micheline has over 22 years experience specializing in biotechnology patents including the fields of immunology, oncology, plant biology, molecular biology and medical diagnostics.
Through the years Micheline has been consistently ranked as a leading biotechnology practitioner by both the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and the Lexpert/ALM Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada.
Micheline is a member of the Advisory Board of the Ontario Partnership for Innovation and Commercialization (OPIC). Micheline spent ten years on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Spinal Research Organization and is a past-chair of their research committee.
Karl Haider
Dr. Karl Haider received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Juniata College in 1983 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Organic Chemistry from Ohio State University in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Following a post-doctoral appointment at Yale University, he joined Bayer’s Polyurethane Research Group in 1991.
Karl is currently a Research Fellow in the New Technologies Group at Bayer MaterialScience in Pittsburgh, PA. In this role he works with universities and small companies to identify and develop emerging materials related technologies that may address the long term needs of Bayer’s Polycarbonates, Polyurethanes, and Coatings Adhesives and Specialties Business Units.
His technical interests include polymer science, nanocomposites for improved mechanical, barrier, surface, or electrical properties, biobased polymers and feedstocks, and materials for energy storage and conversion. Prior to his current position, he worked for 15 years as a researcher in the polyurethanes industry, where he developed technology for elastomers, rigid and flexible foams, adhesives and sealants and for the synthesis of polyurethane raw materials. He has authored over 50 external publications and patents over his career.
Karl serves on Bayer’s Sustainability Council, as well as on several external advisory boards including the Technical Advisory Committee for the Pennsylvania Nanomaterials Commercialization Center and the Technical Screening Committee for the GreenCentre Canada. He serves on the Editorial Board of both the Journal of Cellular Plastics and ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
Jennifer Hamilton
Jennifer Hamilton joined Johnson and Johnson’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology (COSAT) as a Scouting Advisor in October 2010. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, she is responsible for identifying emerging healthcare technologies and business opportunities in Canada. Prior to joining COSAT she spent 10 years as Venture Partner at UK-based Nomura Phase4 Ventures, an international life sciences fund scouting for investment opportunities throughout North America. From 1995-2001 she was an Investment Director with Rothschild Asset Management which managed two global publicly traded funds. She has worked as an advisor to early and late-stage companies, venture funds and pension funds giving financing, business development and M&A advice. She currently sits on Boards of Directors of life sciences companies in Ontario and California. Jennifer has an MSc and a PhD (Experimental Pathology/Lipid Metabolism) from the University of British Columbia and has a BSc from University of Guelph.
Jamie Hall
Jamie Hall joined the University of British Columbia’s University-Industry Liaison Office (UILO) as Communications Officer in 2006. He has over 17 years of experience in marketing and communications in Canada and the UK, where he worked for organizations such as Scotland’s film commission and the University of Edinburgh. At UBC, Jamie is responsible for the internal and external communications activities of the UILO, provides support in marketing technologies, and assists with communications for the entrepreneurship@UBC initiative.
Hang Le Hong
Hang Le Hong is Senior Vice President, GPL Assurance Inc. Ms. Le Hong is a commercial lines damage insurance broker in the province of Quebec. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Concordia University. Ms. Le Hong started her career in 1993 with international insurance companies (Chubb Canada, Royal SunAlliance and GE Capital). In 2000, she joined Globalex Risk Management Inc. as shareholder and Vice-President in the special risks division. She has also contributed in implementing innovative insurance solutions adapted to companies in the following sectors: information technology, biopharmaceuticals, new media, clean technologies, venture capital, and financial institutions. In September 2011, she joined GPL assurance as Senior Vice-President and Director of our new division Knowledge Economy. In doing so, she pursues the mission she started 10 years earlier.
Joe Irvine
Joe Irvine has been involved in technology development and innovation for over twenty-five years, in a variety of technology and management roles in start-up companies, hospitals and academic institutions.
Mr. Irvine has been Director, Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise (TTBE) at the University of Ottawa since 2005, where he has the overall responsibility for research and technology partnerships (contract research and technology transfer) and supports faculty and student entrepreneurship. In 2006, Mr. Irvine founded the Ottawa Technology Transfer Network, a network of regional technology transfer offices to promote innovation and technology transfer within the Ottawa region. Over twenty-five new spin-off companies involving uOttawa research, students and/or technologies have been established with since 2005.
Mr. Irvine sits on several volunteer boards, including ACCT Canada, OCRI, the OutCare Foundation and is on the board of BDR Technology, a uOttawa spin-off company. Prior to joining uOttawa, Joe was responsible for technology transfer and contract and clinical research management at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where he played important roles in the founding of two spin-off companies that went public.
Michelle Laflamme
Michelle Laflamme, President and Founder of Emovi inc. is a lawyer, member of the Roll of the Order of Advocates in the Province of Quebec. She holds a Master of Laws with a specialty in biotechnology. She has 15 years experience in business development and commercialization of innovative products resulting from university research, bringing products from bench to bedside. Prior to founding Emovi, she served as Vice President, Business Development of ProMetic Life Sciences, a Montreal-based biopharmaceutical company where she successfully led private and public financings and concluded strategic alliances and agreements with partners of international scope for the development and commercialization of innovative products. She also set up in 2008 the Campus Health Technology, an organization dedicated to helping medical businesses with the marketing of their innovative medical products. This organization was created with the support of key partners: the CDEC Rosemont-Petite Patrie, Desjardins Group, la Conférence régionale des Élus, the City of Montreal and the Ministère des affaires municipales, régions et occupation du territoire (Province of Québec).
Mahshad Koohgoli
Mahshad Koohgoli has more than 25 years of experience in the technology industry. His specialty is in technology start-up businesses, having successfully managed three companies from the ground up. Previously, he was founder and CEO of Nimcat Networks (acquired by Avaya in 2005) and founder of Spacebridge Networks and Lantern Communications Canada. Prior to these ventures, Mahshad held various technical, marketing and senior roles in Newbridge Networks, Bell Northern Research and Nortel. Mahshad has presented at numerous conferences and panels on the subject of open source and third party license management. Mahshad has a BSc and a PhD from the University of Sussex, England.
Dr. Louis Lamontagne
Dr. Louis Lamontagne is the Global Practice Lead for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s Life Sciences Practice. Dr. Lamontagne currently is the CEO of Alztech LLP, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease. He also is the founder of LTL Global Innovations and Management Inc., whose corporate activities focus primarily on the heath care sector, specifically Health IT.
Dr. Lamontagne brings to the Practice over 25 years of entrepreneurial and senior management experience, primarily in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to his current roles, he was the CEO and founder of Painceptor Pharma Corporation, a company focused on the development of novel therapeutics to treat chronic and neuropathic pain, and CEO of Neurochem Inc., a company focused on therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer’s Disease, which he grew from a startup to one of Canada’s first publicly traded biotechnology companies. In the early 1990’s, Dr. Lamontagne served as CEO of the Ottawa Life Sciences Technology Park, spearheading the organization’s establishment and support for commercialization of Life Sciences innovations in the region and across the country.
Dr. Lamontagne currently serves on the Boards of Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Algonquin College College and Queen’s University’s Parteq (a commercialization and technology transfer enterprise). Previously he has served on the Boards of the Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI), Chronogen Inc., Stempath Inc. and Green Centre Canada.
Louis holds a PhD. in Immunology from McMaster University University and a BSc in Chemistry from Queen’s University and has been a Research Fellow at Harvard University’s School of Public Health. He has received various honours, including the BioMedex Genesis Award for contribution to biotechnology in Canada, the Medical Research Council of Canada Fellowship, and the Medical Research Council of Canada Studentship.
Victoria Lennox
Victoria Lennox is the first Canadian and one of the youngest recipients of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion. Victoria won the award for having pioneered a grassroots youth entrepreneurship movement both in the UK and globally that has taken on a momentum of its own with a membership of more than 45,000 enterprising students across over 80 universities. As the Founder and Chair of the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE), Co-founder and Chair of ICUE, Co-founder of Enterprise Alliance UK, Entrepreneur in Residence at London Metropolitan Business School and former President of Oxford Entrepreneurs, Victoria has built enterprise networks, stimulated public discourse and developed meaningful political and policy inroads to further the entrepreneurship agenda. On the global stage, Victoria supports and mentors the development of youth enterprise organizations in numerous countries; provides advisory support to international organizations in the areas of entrepreneurship networks, education and policy development; and undertakes consulting projects for universities to enhance their entrepreneurial projects.
Victoria has been invited to speak at universities and international enterprise conferences across the UK and Europe and has contributed significantly to various international enterprise boards. In 2009 Victoria was awarded the SFEDI ‘Enterprise Support Network Builder Award’ and ‘Overall Enterprise Champion of the Year Award’, was recognized as a ‘Champion of Entrepreneurial Britain’ and ‘Top 30 Under 30’by Real Business Magazine and was noted as ‘One to Watch’ by Spectator Business.
Victoria moved back to Ottawa in January 2010 where, after having spent a year with Industry Canada’s Small Business Policy Group, she is now working on her next big venture with the vision of fostering amore entrepreneurial and prosperous Canada through Startup Canada.
Dr. Robert Luke
Robert Luke is Assistant Vice President of Research and Innovation for George Brown College. He leads the College’s applied research and innovation activities that focus on working with industry to address development needs and productivity challenges. He is also responsible for institutional research focusing on innovations in teaching and learning and overall educational quality measurement and improvement. Dr. Luke maintains an active research program that focuses on participatory design and the application of innovative technologies in healthcare and education. In addition to his role at George Brown College, he also participates in community initiatives. In the past, he has served on a number of external e-learning research and standardization bodies, including his role as Educational Advisor and Human Factors specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Health. He is chair of the Polytechnics Canada Research Group, co-chair the George Brown College United Way cabinet, and a member of the Toronto Community Foundation Toronto Vital Signs Advisory Group.
Drew Lyall
Drew joined the Stem Cell Network shortly after it was formed in 2001. Over the past 10 years the organisation has secured over $100 Million in government and partner funding, and catalysed over $250 Million in further investment in collaborative translational research. Drew is a member of the Board of the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation and the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, and the Steering Committee of the International Consortium of Stem Cell Networks. Prior to joining SCN, Drew had senior management roles in two start-up companies, and also spent 10 years with Coopers & Lybrand specialising in business planning, strategic planning, public-private partnerships, and commercialisation. Drew holds a BA in Politics, Philopsophy and Economics from the University of Oxford. His is also a Chartered Accountant (UK) and a Certified Management Consultant (Canada).
Chris Mathis
Chris has dedicated the last 16 years of his engineering career to fostering the global commercialization of technology from Atlantic Canada.
His entrepreneurial “teeth-cutting” came from co-founding Mathis Instruments Ltd. to commercialize his wife Nancy’s technology based on her Ph.D. research at UNB. The resulting products and company were awarded numerous distinctions including Profits Magazines’ Top 50 Start-ups, BDC’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year (NB, 1997) and an R&D 100 Award (1999). The efforts were further rewarded when Nancy as inventor of the technology received a Manning Innovation Award.
Chris attended both UPEI and UNB taking Engineering and the Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (TME) program before launching Mathis Instruments. Following his time at Mathis Instruments he worked in technology and knowledge transfer for UNB’s Office of Research Services, engaging industry for both R&D projects and traditional licensing, and spinning out new ventures.
Chris is currently the Executive Director of Springboard Atlantic Inc. the non-profit corporation that supports all 19 post-secondary institutions doing R&D in Atlantic Canada, to help accelerate the innovation cycle through technology and knowledge transfer.
Dr. Michael H. May
Michael May is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) a Canadian, federally incorporated, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the development of foundational technologies that accelerate the commercialization of stem cell – and biomaterials – based technologies. Prior to CCRM, Michael was the President, and co-founder of Rimon Therapeutics Ltd., a Toronto-based regenerative medicine company developing novel medical polymers that possess drug-like activity. Dr. May completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto in 1998 as an NSERC Scholar and was awarded the Martin Walmsley Fellowship for Technological Entrepreneurship in recognition of company creation from academic discovery.
Michael sits on a number of Boards and advisory committees including: MaRS Innovation, 20/20 Vision a centre of excellence for biomaterials in ophthalmology, the Biozone and Bioproducts + Enzymes from Environmental Metagenomes Commercialization committee and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, at the University of Toronto.
Anne Mesny
Anne Mesny is Associate Professor at HEC Montreal and co-founder of the USAGE group, a research group about knowledge transfer from academic research in the management field and other non-technological fields. She holds a M.Sc. in management from Laval University (Québec, Canada) and a Ph.D. in social sciences from the University of Cambridge (UK). Her PhD dissertation focused on the uses of social science knowledge outside the academic world. Her related research interests include industry/university research partnerships, scholar-practitioner collaboration between academics and practitioners, and research ethics. She is also the director the Case Center at HEC Montreal and chief editor or the International Journal of Case Studies in Management.
Tamsin Miley
Tamsin is an internationally qualified IP lawyer with 12 years’ experience in advising universities on research and commercialization. Her services focus on IP advice, contract negotiation, training, policy development and risk management solutions to ensure that research and commercialization flourish in the context of legal, financial, safety and ethical regulation affecting universities and colleges.
Tamsin grew up in Yorkshire and, after reading History at Oxford University, qualified as a solicitor in 1989, working in private practice in the niche area of IP litigation and licensing. In 1992 the travel bug took her to Australia, where she worked for three years for the University of New South Wales, one of Australia’s largest research universities, and again qualified as a barrister and solicitor. In 2003 she moved to Canada and has worked as a consultant to large and small universities in BC and Alberta. Tamsin also spent two years as the Manager of Research Services at the University of Northern British Columbia. She speaks regularly at national conferences concerning research administration and commercialization, and was a member of the Provincial-University Research Agreements Working Group, designed to streamline the process of negotiating research agreements between BC’s public universities and the Province of BC. Tamsin was called to the Bar in BC in 2009 and has established her own firm, Miley Law, providing legal support and training to take the speed bumps out of research contracting. When working with private sector or government bodies, Tamsin’s knowledge of university priorities, responsibilities and obligations helps her save them much time and effort in understanding their academic partners’ positions.
John Molloy
John Molloy (MBA, Queen’s) has been responsible for the commercialization of intellectual property at Queen’s University since 1986. During that time PARTEQ has returned more than $30 million to the university and generated more than 40 technology companies that have attracted more than $1 billion in investor funding and created more than 800 jobs. He has led the creation of a number of venture funds and other financing vehicles for early stage technologies, including PARTEQ Angel Network, established in 2011. In 2009, under his guidance, PARTEQ became the first Canadian technology transfer office in Canada to host a national Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research, GreenCentre Canada. He is a founding member of Ontario and Canadian technology transfer professional organizations and sits on the boards of numerous private and public companies. For many years he has advised both Ontario and Canadian governments on technology transfer and related policies for building a more innovative economy.
Luc Morisset
Luc Morisset is currently President of Eco.Inno.Tech International, his consulting firm specializing in promoting innovation through technology and knowledge development and transfer. Luc has dedicated the last 25 years to the development, promotion and commercialization of inventions and technological innovations.
Trained as an engineer and as a manager, Luc is the author of various works and his fields of expertise are related to the feasibility assessment of new technologies and inventions, strategic management of intellectual property, licensing, commercialization as well as technology transfer in academia and industry.
Luc is member of ACCT Metrics Committee and is a jury member for selecting the most promising student start-ups stemming from HEC Montreal, Ecole Polytechnique and Universite de Montreal. Luc was formerly Senior Manager of Business Development at Univalor, the valorisation organisation of Universite de Montreal and its affiliated schools and hospitals.
Gregor Murray
Gregor Murray is the Director of the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work. Dr. Murray is also the Canada Research Chair in Globalization and the Work World. His main research interests focus on the challenges posed by institutional renewal in the labour and employment field in a context of global economic competition. As well as devising solutions to the many problems associated with the globalization-employment phenomenon, Dr. Murray’s research will further enable Canada to gain recognition as a world leader and authority in international research on this issue.
François Nadeau
François Nadeau graduated in 1978 from École Polytechnique and pursued graduate studies in plasma physics at the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique. As a researcher at Canada’s National Research Council, his work on arc physics earned him the 1982 “young inventor” award from the Canadian Association of Physics. From 1985, he led NRC’s Welding Automation research group where a new technology applicable to industrial pipe welding was developed.
In 1989, he left NRC and founded Tecnar Automation Ltée to develop and commercialize this new technology. Within a few years, the development of the “Rotoweld 2000” was completed and the company successfully broke into Asian, North-American and finally European markets.
Over the following years, the company’s close relationship with NRC allowed it to diversify into several other unique technologies in the field of industrial sensors. Still under M. Nadeau’s leadership, the company now employs forty people and sells its products in more than thirty countries over four continents. It has won several awards including the Development Bank of Canada’s 1996 “Technology based small business of the year”.
M. Nadeau’s personal interest in innovation and entrepreneurship has fueled his involvement in various related non-profit organizations, notably Quebec’s «Association de la Recherche et de l’Innovation du Québec» where he has served as chairman of the board for several years.
Alex Navarre
Alex Navarre has recently joined the team at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in charge of the development of the Montreal’s Innovation District. He also teaches the management of intellectual property at ÉTS. Dr Navarre realized a number of mandates within Numinor Consulting Inc., a consulting company that offers services in structuring research partnerships, financing and training in technology management. Before, he set up NSERC’s new Quebec Regional Office, spent a decade leading technology transfer operations at McGill University and the University of Western Ontario, worked in an economic development agency within the Federal Government and at the Ministry of Finance and led a research center for a multinational corporation.
In addition, Dr Navarre was Chair of the Canadian section of AUTM Professional Development Committee for ten years and a Founding member of ACCT Canada. Over the years, he has been invited to talk about technology management and to teach at AUTM, ACCT, the Richard Ivey School of Business, Sherbrooke University and ÉTS. He holds a BSc from Laval, an MsC and PhD from McGill and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Jacques Ouellet
Jacques Ouellet has more than 30 years of experience in the Information Technology sector. Since joining CRIM in 2004 as Vice President, Research and Development, he has been responsible for the transfer and commercialization of research results from CRIM and its partners.
Prior returning to CRIM, he was Vice President, IT at Inno-Centre, an organization specialized in coaching high-tech start-ups. Between 1989 and 1995, he was Executive Vice-President and Vice President, R&D at CRIM. For several years earlier on in his career, Jacques Ouellet was at DMR, a large consulting firm.
Jacques Ouellet obtained a M.Sc. from Université de Montréal and a D.S.A. from HEC Montréal.
Loudon Owen
Loudon Owen is a practising lawyer and is Managing Partner and co-founder of McLean Watson Capital Inc. McLean Watson is one of Canada’s pre-eminent venture capital firms. He is also a principal of Patent Monetization Inc., an investment and advisory firm that assists owners in monetizing their intellectual property.
Prior to establishing McLean Watson Capital, Loudon and his partner financed and advised Softimage, a world leader in high-end 3D animation software, in its growth from 4 to 250 employees, its IPO on Nasdaq in 1992 and the sale to Microsoft in 1994 as the first public company Microsoft acquired. He was involved from its early days, first as an investor and director, then serving as the Joint Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Softimage from 1993 to the time of its sale. Loudon currently serves, and has served, on a wide range of public and private companies Boards of Directors. As Chairman of i4i Inc, he was instrumental in the preparation, launch and enforcement by i4i of its patent against Microsoft, which resulted in the largest patent award ever affirmed by the Court of Appeals, and an injunction against Microsoft’s Word product. The case went to the US Supreme Court and i4i prevailed with a unanimous decision on June 9, 2011.
Loudon has extensive public and private company Board experience, and performs pro bono Board and trustee work in health and education. He is a Director of Blessings in a Backpack (Canada), a Charter Member of TiE (Indus Entrepreneurs), a member of the Licensing Executives Society (LES), and a member of Insead’s Global Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. He holds a BA in International Relations & Economics (Trinity College, University of Toronto), an LLB (Osgoode Hall Law School), and an MBA (Insead, France).
Dr. Cliff Pavlovic
Dr. Cliff Pavlovic is involved in the knowledge economy, lastly as an intellectual property agent at KU Leuven Research & Development, the technology transfer cell of KU Leuven. He holds a Ph.D in Experimental Medicine and an M.Sc in Microbiology & Immunology from McGill University (Montréal, Canada), as well as a B.Sc in Microbiology from Université Laval (Québec, Canada).
He worked previously as a technology transfer agent at Gestion Univalor, the technology transfer firm responsible for commercializing innovations originating from Université de Montréal and its affiliated institutions. He is also the author of a comparative study between tech transfer in Québec and in Flanders.
Besides working in the knowledge economy, he is one of the founders, as well as VP, of a professional networking event in Montréal, called BioTech Montréal. Launched in 2009, its mission is to foster collaborations and expand contacts in the biotech & healthcare fields, within Montréal and beyond. Since then, it has expanded to Toronto (BioTech Toronto) and Ottawa (BioTech Ottawa).
David J. Phipps
Dr. Phipps received his Ph.D. in Immunology from Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) and undertook post-doctoral studies in HIV research at the University Health Network (Toronto). After leaving the lab he built a career managing academic research holding successively senior positions at the University of Toronto Innovations Foundation (Manager of Biotechnology and Life Sciences), Canadian Arthritis Network (Director of Business Development) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Director of Partnerships). In 2001 Dr. Phipps completed his MBA from the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto). Dr. Phipps is the Director, Research Services & Knowledge Exchange at York University where he manages all research grants and contracts including and knowledge and technology transfer.
Dr. Phipps authored the first grant offered by the tri-council Intellectual Property Mobilization program funding knowledge mobilization (KMb) in partnership with the University of Victoria to build the infrastructure for a KMb network that has grown to include Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Université du Québec à Montréal, University of Guelph and University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Phipps is leading York’s KMb Unit that provides services to researchers, community organizations and government agencies who wish to use policy and practice related research to inform public policy and professional practice.
Christine Piché
Christine Piché is currently acting Director, Intellectual Property Portfolio Management at the National Research Council of Canada. She is responsible for leading the group that provides IP management services for the Council. Prior to this position, Christine worked as a Patent Agent serving the electrical engineering institutes at the council. She has been working in Intellectual Property for the past 14 years, 10 of which have been for NRC. Prior to NRC, Christine worked at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
She is a Patent Agent registered to practice in Canada, and the US. Christine holds a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA.
Thomas Prowse
Thomas Prowse is Intellectual Property Counsel with GENBAND, a global leader of Internet Protocol infrastructure and service solutions focused on the evolution of communications networks. Thomas is also the President and Founder of n2one inc., a startup focused on leveraging the “commons sourcing” business model to transform the delivery of Open Source Software legal information and other professional services. Prior to joining GENBAND, Thomas was a partner with Gowlings Kanata Technology Law Office where his practice focused on providing legal advice in the areas of technology law and technology-related commercial matters.
Before re-joining Gowlings in 2007, Thomas was Senior Counsel with Nortel where he provided legal support to product development organizations. He worked extensively on Open Source Software matters during his 13 year tenure at Nortel and was the Global Law Department leader in this area. Thomas was selected by his peers to be included in the 2010 and 2011 editions of The Best Lawyers in Canada in the Technology Law specialty. His in-house counsel, private practice, and government policy experience equip him to provide practical, timely, and concise legal advice grounded in his understanding of the business and technological challenges faced by companies today.
Robin L. Rasor
As Director of Licensing, Ms. Rasor oversees staff handling all functions of the licensing process at the University ranging from management and marketing of disclosures to developing and negotiating appropriate licensing terms for license agreements, and finally to maintaining and monitoring existing agreements.
Previously, Ms. Rasor was Director of Licensing at The Ohio State University. Her primary focus was on technologies arising from life sciences research from the Colleges of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Sciences. In her previous ten years experience with Battelle Columbus Laboratories, a leading US contract research firm, Ms. Rasor traveled extensively to Japan and Europe for marketing and research programs.
Ms. Rasor has a MS in Genetics from The Ohio State University and a BS in Bacteriology and Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University. She recently earned the CLP (Certified Licensing Professional) credential. A former member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Board of Trustees as the Vice President for Planning, Ms Rasor is currently President of AUTM. She has also served on the Board of Directors, most recently as Treasurer, of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce.
In 2005, she was awarded the President’s Award for service to AUTM. In 2007, Ms. Rasor was part of the team headed by Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan honored by The American Association for Cancer Research in its first annual AACR Team Science Award.
Nobina Robinson
Nobina Robinson was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Polytechnics Canada in May 2009. She held progressive appointments in the federal government and non-profit sectors since 1990.
Mrs. Robinson began her public service career in 1990 when she joined the Treasury Board Secretariat as a management trainee. Two years later, she became a Foreign Service Officer and was posted as a political officer to the Canadian Embassy in Havana from 1994 to 1997.
From 1998 to 2002, Mrs. Robinson led FOCAL, a policy institute on Canada’s relations with the Americas.
Before joining Polytechnics Canada, Mrs. Robinson was the Ottawa-based Senior Government Relations Advisor for Seneca College, responsible for federal advocacy for one of Canada’s largest colleges.
Mrs. Robinson has a B.A. from Amherst College, an M.A. from Oxford University (Commonwealth Scholar 1985-1988) and has pursued post-graduate studies at Yale University.
Mrs. Robinson served as a member of the Expert Panel on the Review of Federal Support to Research and Development that completed its work in October 2011.
Jason Della Rocca
Jason is the founder of Perimeter Partners, a consultancy that provides strategic level guidance and expertise to companies and organizations on the boundary, or perimeter, of the game industry. For nearly nine years, he served as the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), a professional society committed to advancing the game industry and the careers of developers.
As a sought after expert on the game industry, Jason has spoken at conferences worldwide (e.g., GDC, Tokyo Game Show, Nordic Game, ChinaJoy, etc), lectured at top universities (e.g., National University of Singapore, McGill, University of Tokyo, Penn State, etc), and has either written for or been interviewed by countless news outlets (e.g., Wired, Edge, Nightline, LA Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, The Escapist, etc).
Kelly Sansom
Kelly Sansom is the Director, Communications & Marketing for Innovate Calgary – an organization that delivers technology transfer and business incubator programs and services to researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses. She has over 12 years experience in Marketing & Communications within both the public and private sectors. Kelly’s breadth of experience includes corporate rebranding, community relations and event management. She also has international experience working for a Canadian College in the Middle East developing and implementing marketing and communication plans to increase awareness of the programs offered.
Kelly holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Calgary, has a certificate in Reputation Management from the Reputation Institute and is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators.
Helge Seetzen
Helge Seetzen is a successful multi-media technology entrepreneur with deep experience in the university tech transfer space. As the CEO of TandemLaunch Technologies, he provides university inventors with the funding, staff resources, infrastructure, and industry connections necessary to bring their ideas to market. Prior to TandemLaunch, he co-founded Sunnybrook Technologies and later BrightSide Technologies to commercialize display technologies developed at the University of British Columbia. BrightSide was successfully sold to Dolby Laboratories for US$28M at high return to shareholders after having grown to over 30 developers and receiving accolades such as the Best Buzz Award at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Conference and a "Top 100 Technologies in 2006" rank by Popular Science Magazine. At Dolby he led all cross-functional development activities for Dolby’s first two consumer video products. In this capacity he built research and engineering departments in Canada and the US, and was closely involved in licensing negotiations with many major consumer electronics manufacturers.
Helge’s leadership in the technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurial space has been widely recognized through awards such as Business in Vancouver’s 40 under Forty award for business accomplishment, the NSERC Innovation Challenge Award for university technology transfer, and a Special Recognition Award from the Society for Information Display for the pioneering of LED TV technology. He serves as the General Chair for DisplayWeek, the largest technical conference on displays, and Publication Chair of the Society for Information Display. He has published over 20 articles and holds 30 patents with an additional 30 pending US applications. Helge received a B.Sc. in physics and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary imaging technology (physics & computer science) from the University of British Columbia.
Bart Simon
Bart Simon’s research is focused on the areas of science and technology studies with specific interests in digital culture, games and virtual worlds, and simulation, surveillance and social control.
In 2004, Simon launched the Montreal GameCODE project, a Concordia-based research initiative to examine the cultural impact of digital games. His recent publications include ‘Geek Chic: Machine Aesthetics, Digital Gaming, and the Cultural Politics of the Case Mod’, ‘Never Playing Alone: The Social Contextures of Digital Gaming’
Robert Douglas Singer
Robert Singer, born and raised in Bedford, Nova Scotia, obtained his B. Sc. 1st Class Honours in Chemistry from Saint Mary’s University in 1986. He attended Simon Fraser University while holding an NSERC-PGS Award under the supervision of A. C. Oehlschlager working on cuprate chemistry and obtained his Ph. D. in 1992. He then conducted his postdoctoral research at Philipps-Universität Marburg in Marburg, Germany while holding a prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Paul Knochel while working on organozinc chemistry. Robert returned to his alma mater in September 1993 to take up a position as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He had an accelerated promotion to Full Professor in 2003 and is author or co-author of 62 peer reviewed scientific articles, over 140 conference and invited presentations, and has supervised 4 graduate students, 25 honours students, and upwards of 100 undergraduate research assistants. He has secured over $873, 000 of individual research grant funds (including funding from Green Centre Canada in the form of Proof of Concept funding) as well as in excess of $8 million in collaborative and other research grants since 1993. Over the last eighteen years he has received a number of awards including the Father William Stewart S. J. Medal for Excellence in Teaching in May 1999, has been recognized as a Leader of Tomorrow by the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering (PAGSE), and is currently an Honorary Associate, Victorian College of Pharmacy, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Robert has a long record of service to Saint Mary’s University including having served as Departmental Chairperson, on the Academic Senate and numerous committees thereof, and the Board of Governors and its Finance Committee.
On the personal side of things Robert played more than 18 years of competitive rugby before hanging up the boots in 2001 and played on a number of provincial and Maritime club championship teams with the Halifax Rugby Football Club. He also played a number of years with the provincial side, the Nova Scotia Keltics and enjoyed two national finals against British Columbia in the Rugby Canada Super League. Robert is also a big fan of fishing and caught “the big one” when he was married in 1998 to Shirley. He is now the proud father of Benjamin James and Olivia Marie who occupy the majority of his free time.
Mike Szarka
Mike Szarka is Director of Commercial Development for GreenCentre Canada, a national centre of excellence for commercialization of new green chemistry technologies located in Kingston, Ontario. Mike has fifteen years of technology transfer experience in several university and government organizations, including previous positions with the Ontario Centres of Excellence, the University of Toronto, and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Mike is Assistant Vice-President for Metrics and Surveys for AUTM, and was Chair of AUTM’s Transactional Metrics survey committee, which created and executed the first AUTM Transactions Survey. Mike is a member of the metrics committee for the Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies (ACCT Canada) and serves on the board of the Ontario Society of Excellence in Technology Transfer (OnSETT). Mike holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Toronto.
Michel Trépanie
Michel Trépanier is a graduate of the Université de Montreal where in 1990 he received his Ph.D in sociology. He is a professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS-UCS) and associate professor with the department of management sciences at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières where he is also a researcher at the Institut de recherche sur les PME (INRPME). Since 1990, professor Trépanier has studied innovation in SMEs. He is interested particularly in the business relations between firms, as well as the relationship between the scientific community and industry.
He has studied the impacts of these interactions on the development of SMEs, particularly the development of new products. After examining the Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologies (CCTT) in Quebec, he is currently working on ecodesign and the integration of industrial designers in the development process of new products. More recently, he was awarded a SSHRC strategic grant (Innovation Systems Research Network) where he researched the regional dynamics of innovation. Working collaboratively with Josée St-Pierre of the INRPME, professor Trépanier has developed with a diagnostic tool to measure the innovative capacity of SMEs which can be used at either the firm or the regional level.
Guy Viel
With a Ph.D. in biology from the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Dr. Guy Viel combines 22 years of corporate experience in industrial research and development in the field of applied biotechnology. From 1989 to 2002, he has worked for Lallemand, GSI environment and AEF Global. Since 2003, Dr. Viel is the executive director- of the Marine Biotechnology Research Centre (CRBM). Dr. Viel is also an associate professor at the Institute des sciences de la mer (ISMER) of the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) and member of the board of the Technopole Maritime du Québec.
CRBM fulfills R&D on the processing of marine biomass products for biotechnology applications, the development of added value products, the analysis of extracts and molecules, the optimization of industrial processes, the application of quality control systems and the assessment of products. The subject areas covered are organic and analytical chemistry, applied pharmachemistry, applied microbiology, cellular and molecular biology, biotechnology, process engineering and marine biology.
From the global trends in the marine biotechnology, different strategic orientations have been identified for the positioning of the scientific program of the CRBM. These strategic axes and the regional opportunities are at the base of the different R & D and technology transfer projects of the CRBM. These are the areas of research related to biopharmaceutical, cosmetics, and the nutraceuticals ingredients. R&D of the CRBM involves particularly the valorization of marine by-products. Microorganisms and microalgae development are also in the CRBM R&D portfolio.
Niall Wallace
Mr. Wallace is co-founder and CEO of Infonaut Inc, a privately held Canadian company dedicated to helping governments and health-related organizations address infectious disease outbreaks. Through his expertise in data warehousing and management reporting, Mr. Wallace has created a company that helps health organizations make sense of previously overwhelming amounts of information that can help save lives. Mr. Wallace has previously worked in the Financial Sector with Scotiabank and Manulife Financial before starting to work in the healthcare sector in 2001. Mr. Wallace spent five years building a successful consulting practice in the healthcare sector that focused on information strategy, data warehousing and management-level reporting before founding Infonaut Inc. As CEO, Mr. Wallace oversees Infonaut’s aggressive growth strategy, business development, and application research & development. Infonaut is involved in a number of large-scale projects with a focus on healthcare planning and management. Mr. Wallace has led Infonaut’s active involvement with many healthcare and pandemic planning projects with clients including Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Public Health Division; SARS Expert Panel; Emergency Management Unit; various hospitals and others. Under Mr. Wallace’s direction, Infonaut and George Brown College are involved in a joint effort for the development of Infonaut’s Hospital Watch Live project. Funding from NSERC is supporting five years of applied research in a project that is very significant as it is giving GBC students timely and real-life industry problem solving experience in concert with their studies.
Vanessa Williamson
Vanessa joined the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII) in February 2010, and brings to the position extensive experience in academic and industrial R&D, technology transfer, and commercialization. Prior to coming to CONII, Vanessa was the Director of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at the University of Prince Edward Island and Three Oaks Innovations, where she was responsible for the management of UPEI’s industry liaison activities, and technology transfer and commercialization portfolio. While at UPEI, she was also a member of the Springboard Atlantic Management Committee. Vanessa has served as a Technology Transfer Manager in the University of Guelph’s Business Development Office, with a focus on life science technologies, and prior to moving to academia, worked with NPS Pharmaceuticals, an international biopharmaceutical company, initially as a development scientist, and later in technology transfer. She has held multiple research and development positions in both industry and academia, focused mainly in the biological sciences. Vanessa holds a BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry, an MSc in Medical Science, and is a Canadian Patent Agent trainee. Her professional memberships include ACCT Canada, AUTM, and LES.
Karim Zaghib
Karim Zaghib obtained his MS in 1987 and his PhD in 1990, both in electrochemistry from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France under the direction of Bernadette Nguyen. In 2002, he received the HDR (Habilitation a Diriger la Recherche) in materials science from the Université de Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.
From 1986 to 1990, Dr. Zaghib developed Al-Mn Alloys in molten salts as negative electrodes for Li-ion batteries and Cu/Zn reaction dispplacement. In 1990, Dr. Zaghib published a new method to enhance the electrodeposition of metals. He was a post-doctoral fellow (1990-1992) under a Saft-DGA contract working on graphite for negative electrode in Li-ion battery. From 1992 to 1995, Dr. Zaghib was guest researcher for the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (METI) where he joined the New Sunshine project at ONRI (Osaka, National Research Institute) to develop new materials for lithium-ion batteries. Following his research in Japan, Dr Zaghib joined Hydro-Quebec’s ACEP project where he was instrumental in introducing Li-ion technology to the company. Dr. Zaghib is currently the Administrator of the Conversion and Storage of Energy Departement. At Hydro-Québec, he started collaboration with Michel Armand on new materials and electrolytes. In 1998, Dr. Zaghib started collaboration with Kim Kinoshita at LBNL to understand the oxidation and irreversible capacity loss versus the particle size of natural graphite. During the last 15 years, Dr. Zaghib has actively collaborated with John Goodenough (University of Texas, Austin), and Christian Julien and Alain Mauger (Paris 6 University, France) to develop the olivine cathode materials for Li-ion batteries.
Dr. Zaghib has published 150 papers, 88 patents, and served as editor or co-editor of 13 books. He was organizer or co-organizer of 45 symposia, meetings, workshops. In June 2010, he will be the General Chair of the International Meeting on Lithium Batteries (IMLB) in Montréal, Québec. He is very active in ECS, and recently completed his term as the Chair of the Energy Technology Division. Dr. Zaghib is the recipient of the International Electric Research Exchange (IERE) Research Award (2008) in Iguaçu, Brazil, Research Award of Energy technogy division of ECS in 2009 and the International Battery Association (IBA) Research Award in January 2010. In 2011 Dr, Zaghib has been elected ECS Fellow.