Dr. Paul Hebert: The Barcode of Life Initiative - Checking Life in before it checks out Humans share the Earth with million of species, most of which, even after 250 years of scientific investigation, remain unknown to us. Major advances in genomics, coupled with Canadian ingenuity, have now paved the way for the Barcode of […]
Dr. Barbara Sherwood Lollar: Countering the hydrocarbon threat to Canada's groundwater Hydrocarbon pollution of groundwater is a widespread problem in both rural and urban settings and a major concern for the millions of Canadians who rely on groundwater for their water supply. Key pollutants include oil and gas hydrocarbons from leaking underground storage tanks and […]
Dr. David Keith: Wind Power in a Carbon-Constrained World: Capacity, Cost, and Environmental Impacts Wind power has come of age, with over 40 gigawatts of global capacity and annual equipment sales near $10 billion. While this growth rate is impressive, wind power currently supplies a trivial fraction of global energy needs. Professor David Keith works […]
Dr. David Shoesmith: Safe Disposal of Canada's High Level Nuclear Wastes Due to the need for emission-free energy generation methods, nuclear energy is again at centre-stage from a scientific and policy standpoint. Before a new generation of nuclear reactors can be built in Canada, Canadians will want reasonable assurances that nuclear wastes can be safely […]
Dr. Murat Saatcioglu: Earthquakes and Bomb Blasts: How safe is our infrastructure? In 2004 alone, natural and human-induced disasters killed more than 300,000 people worldwide and inflicted damage in excess of $150 billion. Canada is not immune to such events. More than 30 per cent of Canadians reside in seismically active zones, with the West […]
Dr. David Dolphin: From the Bench to the Bedside to the Bank Dr. David Dolphin will share his unique insight into the discovery and commercial development of Visudyne, a drug that has prevented blindness in more than half a million patients with advanced age related macular degeneration. The drug, which has already had sales of […]
Dr. Scott A. Mabury: From microwave popcorn bags to polar bears – tracking the path of fluoroalcohols through the global environment Fluoroalcohols, the basic industrial building blocks of many popular water and stain repellents, contribute significantly to the global burden of chemical pollution. The chemicals are widespread in the atmosphere, persistent enough to travel long […]
Dr. Yves Bergeron: Managing Canada's Boreal Forests for the Future The Canadian boreal forest constitutes one of the last frontier forests in the world. But it is a forest under pressure. Traditional cutting practices have resulted in a greatly decreased percentage of old-growth forest. Fire – a source of soil disturbance that increases fertility – […]
Peter Frise: Building the car of the future, idea by idea The automotive industry is Canada’s largest single business sector, providing high-value employment to over 500,000 people across the country, including over 150,000 direct jobs mainly in Ontario and Quebec. While this $110 billion sector is Canada’s largest exporter, it now faces significant competitive pressures […]
Dr. John Hughes Clarke: Ocean mapping – a new tool for exploring and managing Canada’s vast offshore resources Dr. John Hughes Clarke: Cartographie océanique – un nouvel outil pour l’exploration et la gestion des vastes ressources extracôtières du Canada De nouveaux développements impressionnants en cartographie sous-marine peuvent maintenant offrir des panoramas stupéfiants en haute […]
Dr. Richard Béliveau: Fighting Cancer with Food It is estimated that one third of cancer cases can be attributed to diet, which demonstrates the importance of healthy eating to help reduce the incidence and progression of cancer. Numerous fundamental, clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is a key […]
Dr. Robert Wolkow: The Ruse and the Reality of Nanotechnology Nanotechnology doesn’t exist yet, not substantially, not compared to what is coming. What exists today is nanoscience. It is the many, diverse and substantial developments in nanoscience that have created the buzz about future nanotechnology. The ability to literally see, touch and even move at […]