1. GreenCentre Canada appoints commercial and product development teams

    August 25, 2009 by AURP Canada

    August 20, 2009

    KINGSTON, ON – GreenCentre Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of four commercialization professionals to its commercial and product development teams.

    The appointments are as follows:

    • Dr. Michael Szarka, Director of Commercial Development
    • Dr. Johnathan Sargent, Manager of Commercial Development
    • Dr. Preston Chase, Senior Development Scientist
    • Dr. Dominik Wechsler, Senior Development Scientist

    Dr. Michael Szarkais a physical chemist and a respected university technology manager. He was instrumental in the launch and operations of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and previously was a Technology Manager at the Innovations Foundation, University of Toronto.  During his tenure at U of T, Dr. Szarka played critical roles in the development of two of the university’s key startup companies, Biox Corp. and Opalux Inc.  He also has expertise in the photonics and small business consulting sectors and is an experienced negotiator and policy advisor in the areas of intellectual property and licensing.

    Dr. Szarka received his PhD in Chemistry from University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral work at York University’s Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry.  He is Chair of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) transactional metrics committee, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Society for Excellence in Technology Transfer (OnSETT).

    Dr. Jonathan Sargenthas more than 11 years of industrial experience in product and business development, in the chemical, materials, and biotechnology fields.  He worked for GE Plastics in a variety of global management roles for seven years and worked in the biotech sector for four years as both a researcher and founding employee.  He has also consulted for the venture capital industry.  He has a PhD and MA in chemistry from the University of Southern California, a BSc from McGill University and a Six Sigma black belt.  He is also currently finishing his MBA at Schulich School of Business at York University.

    Dr. Preston Chasecomes to GreenCentre from the University of Toronto where he was a research associate with Dr. Doug Stephan, developing metal-free hydrogenation catalysts.  Previously he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.  he received his PhD from the University of Calgary and BSc from the University of Victoria.  A recipient of a number of postgraduate and postdoctoral awards, he has published extensively and is a named inventor of two patents.

    Dr. Dominik Wechslerbrings both industry and academic experience to his position.  Most recently he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University where his research focused on developing new hydrogen storage media for fuel cells.  Previously he worked for the National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Biosciences, and Jellet Biotek.  He received his PhD and BSc from Dalhousie University, where his doctoral research focused on organometallic catalysts.

    “We are delighted to have the expertise of these individuals on our commercial and product development teams,” says Dr. Rui Resendes, Executive Director of GreenCentre Canada. “Their extensive industry and scientific research experience, combined with proven abilities to build companies and networks, gives GreenCentre a strong foundation on which to build North America’s premier Green Chemistry commercialization centre.”

    Contact:
    Dr. Rui Resendes
    Executive Director
    Green Centre Canada
    P: 613.507.4700
    E: rui.resendes@greencentrecanada.com
    www.greencentrecanada.com

    About GreenCentre Canada:

    GreenCentre Canada is a national Centre of Excellence for developing, de-risking and commercializing early-stage Green Chemistry discoveries generated by academic researchers and industry.  GreenCentre Canada is dedicated to developing environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional chemical and manufacturing practices.  It is governed and operated with the assistance of industry members from across the chemical value chain.  The centre is located at the Innovation Park at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

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  2. VITP embarks on new BC Hydro program – Does your Park monitor its energy in real-time?

    August 21, 2009 by dgann1

    The Vancouver Island Technology Park (VITP) will utilize real-time energy monitoring to increase its energy efficiency thanks to BC Hydro’s new Continuous Optimization program. The energy management software will be provided by West Vancouver’s Pulse Energy.
    Through the program, which aims to improve the operating efficiency of older commercial buildings, the company will also receive a comprehensive energy audit.
    “This program will help our facilities reduce energy consumption by an estimated seven per cent,” said Dale Gann, VITP president. “Our goal is to be a leader in energy efficiency and we are pleased to be working towards that goal with help from Pulse Energy, a B.C.-based technology company.”
    New digital meters will replace existing meters at the technology park and will provide data on energy use every 15 minutes to help building operators determine whether energy consumption is on or off target.
    “The Technology Park has made an ongoing commitment to make real improvimage.axdements in their energy efficiency. This has made them ideal partners for this innovative project,” said David Helliwell, Pulse Energy co-founder. “Pulse software will enable the Technology Park to reduce their energy use by automatically alerting operations personnel of energy-wasting anomalies.”
    “Over time, buildings do not operate as optimally as they should and use more energy than they should to satisfy occupant comfort and lighting requirements,” said Lisa Coltart, executive director of Power Smart & Customer Care, BC Hydro. “However, this can be fixed through the implementation of low-cost changes and those are the opportunities we hope to help building operators identify through this program.”
    The program is open to facilities larger than 50,000 square feet. Companies that participate are provided with energy management software and an energy audit and must agree to complete and fund any retrofits that fall within a two-year payback period.
    For more information, please go to:
    www. PulseEnergy.com
    www.bchydro.com
    www.vitp.ca

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  3. GLOBAL INNOVATION LEADERS TO GATHER IN VANCOUVER

    August 20, 2009 by dgann1

    GLOBAL INNOVATION LEADERS TO GATHER IN VANCOUVER

    VANCOUVER, B.C., CANADA—Olympimain-photoads aren’t the only global representatives expected in Vancouver this year. The site of the 2010 Winter Olympics will draw research park and
    innovation leaders from around the world this fall.

    The Association of University Research Parks (AURP) 2009 Annual Conference will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, October 21-23.
    AURP, the world’s largest association of university-based research, science and tech parks, will bring experts who have planned, designed, funded and operated leading university research parks and new business incubators to Vancouver’s thriving high-tech economy.

    “AURP draws leading experts in innovation and also welcomes those new to research parks for Research Parks 101,” said Gregory Deason, AURP President. “Regardless of whether a park is planned or successfully operating, AURP offers expert insight for those who seek to promote
    innovation in their community.”

    The 2009 Annual Conference: Advancing Global Research Park Networks is hosted by the University of Victoria’s Vancouver Island Technology Park (VITP) and sponsored by Discovery Parks.

    “AURP’s conferences are an opportunity for university research parks to come together, share ideas and develop partnerships,” said Eileen Walker, AURP Chief Executive Officer. “With the current economic challenges, the focus will be on how university research parks will drive a global economic recovery.”

    University research parks are proven to be drivers in economic growth. Every job in a research park generates an average of 2.57 jobs in the economy, according to the AURP-Battelle Report.

    While in Vancouver, attendees will tour Discovery Parks and other Vancouver innovation hot spots. More information on the AURP 2009 Annual Conference including speakers, tours and registration is available online at www.AURP.net.

    Attached below are the links to promotional:

    English

    Spanish

    Portuguese

    Mandarin

    French

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  4. WAINOVA Atlas of Innovation is launched

    August 19, 2009 by dgann1

    For the first time, WAINOVA members, their respective memberships and the public could see the results of a years work compiling information and data on over 700 innovation organisations linked to WAINOVA. This panoramic vision of science and technology parks and business incubators is unique in its design and conception, and presents a new perspective on a cartography of innovation worldwide.

    An e-book and online version will be launched on 17th of June 2009. More news and updates will be posted here on www.wainova.org, but please contact wainova@wainova.org if you would like further information or if you are interested in purchasing a copy of this unique publication.

    Is your Park on the atlas?

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  5. ‘The Woz’: A techno-guy still having fun

    by AURP Canada

    Rose Simone, Record Staff
    August 17, 2009

    WATERLOO REGION – At age 59, “The Woz” is still a technology geek, a “gadget guy” as he describes himself.

    Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple who prefers to be called Woz, is currently carrying not one but two Apple iPhones in his pockets.  “I am a gadget guy. I try all the smart phones,” he said in an interview after giving a speech Monday at a Communitech technology association sold-out breakfast event at Bingemans in Kitchner.

    He’s even tried two versions of the BlackBerry and other non-Apple products, just to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t.  At heart, he’ll always be an engineer who loves the gadgets and the wizardry behind the gadgets.

    But in a lifetime that catapulted him from electronics geek to multi-millionaire and technology cult icon, Wozniak learned that it’s not about the technology, but about the people using it.

    “The human is more important than the technology,” says Wozniak, now chief scientist at Utah-based Fusion-io.

    “The people who design and invent technology want to make the world a better place,” he said.  “Somehow it has to make people smile more and frown less than they did 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago.”

    He himself marvels at the fact that as a person who just wanted to be an engineer, he ended up becoming a technology icon, speaker and author, simply by virtue of being associated with a product that became so successful.  Fortunately, his fame hasn’t stopped him from having fun.  He is an avid Segway polo player and recently competed in the show Dancing with the Stars, where he danced with Karina Smirnoff.

    Human interaction is important to Wozniak, and he says that is what makes a product successful.  “These days, that almost always boils down to the user interface and how you interact with the machine using your hands, your eyes, your senses, your muscles.”

    The easy user interface is what made the Apple computers so successful and for that, Wozniak credits the late Jef Raskin, a classical pianist with a background in computer science who influenced the early Macintosh.

    Of course, a company also has to have financial brains to succeed, Wozniak said.  He admits that when he first designed the Apple 1 computer, he actually gave the schematics away so that others could build it too.

    He was working for Hewlett-Packard at the time, and says he approached the company five times about building this personal computer, and was flatly rejected.  “That was strange, but anyway, HP would have done it wrong, because it wouldn’t have had the colour and the games and the fun,” he says now.

    It was Steve Jobs who pushed to create a company around the Apple computer, he said. “He was good at finding ways of turning things into money,” Wozniak added.  The company also hooked up with angel investor and mentor Mike Markkula who advised against pricing the products too low, because when a company is growing, it needs a good profit margin so that it is not borrowing excessively and can survive into the long term, he added.

    Wozniak said that the recession can be a good time to grow a new company, especially if the company has a “hot product.”

    Today, Wozniak is enthusiastically promoting Fusion-io, saying he was “blown away” by the potential when he says the technology being demonstrated.  Instead of the traditional hard disk drives in the computer servers that hold and process information, Fusion-io offers a storage device that is based on flash memory chips, which are highly reliable, much faster than the traditional hard disk drives, and consume less power.

    He shared the stage in Kitchener with David Flynn, chief technology officer for Fusion-io.  “We will be growing out market worldwide,” Wozniak said. “Flash is the hot media of the day.”

    In the midst of travelling the world to spread the technology message, Wozniak is still having fun.  Despite being eliminated from the competition on Dancing with the Stars, he and his wife are signed up for dancing lessons.

    “I am going to take dancing for the rest of my life, learn all the moves,” he said. ” I am just really enthused about dancing, how it feels and what it’s like to do it.”

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  6. Fortune magazine: RIM is world’s fastest-growing company

    August 18, 2009 by AURP Canada

    TORONTO – American business magazine Fortune has named BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) the world’s fastest-growing company.

    Research In Motion was one of the two Canadian companies who made the top 10 of Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list after the magazine opened the survey to businesses around the world for the first time.

    Waterloo, Ont. – based RIM topped the list, while Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (TSX:POT). the world’s biggest fertilizer company, came 10th.

    RIM has more than quadrupled its workforce in the last four years to about 12,000 people and seen its profits and revenues soar as the company has grown sales of its BlackBerry devices beyond the corporate world to the highly competitive consumer market.

    In its last quarterly report, Research In Motion reported that its quarterly profit was US$643 million, or $1.12 per share, compared with $482.5 million, or 84 cents per share a year earlier.

    Revenues rose 53 percent from a year ago to US$3.42 billion.

    The Fortune article about RIM compares co-CEO’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis to Apple head Steve Jobs and his popular iPhone, and says the two Canadians are “more than holding their own.”

    RIM  holds a 56 per cent share of the US$12-billion American smartphone market, and is expected to see three-year average earnings-per-share grown of 84 per cent and revenue growthof 77 per cent. Fortune says this is largely on the strength of RIM’s foray into the consumer market.

    By comparison,  Apple takes 39th place in the magazine’s top-100 list.

    However, Fortune warns that RIM’scompetition is “getting increasingly stiff” and RIM will have to keep up with the changing consumer demands.

    Shares in RIM lost $1.98 to $78.31 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while Potash Corp. share lost $4.53 to $100.97.

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  7. Sustainability at Boffins

    August 16, 2009 by AURP Canada

    Boffin’s Club in Saskatoon is now a member of the Ocean Wise program.  All of the seafood they serve is certified sustainable and is noted with the Ocean Wise logo in the menus.

    Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood, which is defined as “species caught or farmed in a way that ensures the long-term health and sustainability of that species, as well as the greater marine ecosystem.”  Specifically, this means the species is:

    • abundant and resilient to fishing pressures;
    • well managed with a comprehensive management plan based on current research;
    • harvested in a method ensuring limited bycatch on non-target and endangered species; and
    • harvested in ways limiting damage to marine or aquatic habitats and negative interactions with other species.

    Ocean Wise works directly with restaurants and markets, ensuring they have the most current scientific information regarding seafood and helping them make ocean-friendly buying decisions.  The options are highlighted on their menus and display cases with the Ocean Wise symbol, making it easier for consumers to make environmentally friendly seafood choices.

    For more information about Boffins Club go to www.boffins.ca.

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  8. Advancing Global Research Parks Networks

    August 14, 2009 by dgann1
    AURP 2009 Conference

    AURP 2009 Conference

    What do university research parks and the 2010 Winter Olympics have in common?

    VANCOUVER!

    AURP is bringing together university research park leaders from around the world to discuss the future of innovation and to

    Advance the Global Research Park Network.

    Registration is now open for the AURP 2009 Annual Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada October 21-23! Early-bird registration won’t last long–Visit www.aurp.net and register online today!

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  9. BusinessWeek Runs Special Report on Research and Technology Parks

    by dgann1

    image.axd

    Since it opened 50 years ago, North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park has been the epitome of science parks: a neatly landscaped campus of low-rise building buildings in exurbia, where scientists at aspiring technology spin-offs from nearby universities toil all day in cramped, low-rent “incubators” and then disperse each evening to fight the Interstate traffic on their way home.

    The rest of the world is moving far beyond that model. As more nations try to gain an edge in the next generation of knowledge industries, stunning new high-tech meccas are going up from Asia to Europe to Latin America, a building spree that hardly has been slowed by the recession. They are nothing like the far-flung developments of old like Research Triangle Park, which was carved out of 11 square miles of pine forest near Raleigh-Durham. Many, in fact, are being constructed deep inside old cities and include nearby housing and city amenities with the intention of creating new communities.

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  10. The Globe and Mail Reports: Industry awaits Ottawa’s high-tech plan

    by dgann1

    On a mid-May evening, Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined Industry Minister Tony Clement and 15 chief executives from Canada’s largest technology companies for dinner in a private room of the 6th-floor restaurant in Parliament Hill’s Centre Block.

    The guests included Nortel Networks Ltd.’s boss, Mike Zafirovski, and Research In Motion Ltd.’s co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis – though there was no talk at the supper table of Nortel’s court-supervised bankruptcy.

    Nor was there any mention of RIM’s desire to purchase key Nortel wireless assets, an objective that sparked a nationalist backlash this week after U.S. and Ontario courts approved the sale to Sweden’s Telefon AB LM Ericsson of Nortel’s wireless division for $1.1-billion. (more…)

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