Science,
Technology
and Innovation
Council
Common menu bar links
Biographical Notes
Chair
Members
- Mr. David Agnew
- Mr. Eric Bergeron
- Mr. Richard Dicerni
- Mr. Louis Lévesque
- Mr. Peter MacKinnon
- Dr. Terence Matthews
- Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum
- Mr. David O'Brien
- Dr. Simon Pimstone
- Mr. J. Robert S. Prichard
- Dr. Guy Rouleau
- Dr. Indira Samarasekera
- Dr. Molly Shoichet
- Dr. Neil Turok
- Dr. Harvey Weingarten
- Mr. Rob Wildeboer
- Ms. Glenda Yeates
Chair
Dr. Howard Alper
Howard Alper is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa where his research spans organic and inorganic chemistry, with potential applications in the pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and commodity chemical industries. He has over 525 publications and 37 patents. He has received numerous awards and prizes. Of particular note is the first Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal in Science and Engineering, the most prestigious award in Canada for Science and Engineering. He was appointed as a Titular Member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities in 1996. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1999, and in 2002 he received the award of Officer, National Order of Merit, by France.
He has served as Chair of Boards and Committees including, amongst others, the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering (PAGSE), Council of Canadian Academies, and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network. He was named President of the Royal Society of Canada for a two-year term commencing November 2001. In December 2006, he was elected Co-Chair of the IAP: The Global Network of Science Academies, for a three-year term, and in January, 2010, was re-elected to a second three-year term. In 2010, he was also appointed to the U.S. National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for International Science and Engineering, to the Science Advisory Committee of the World Economic Forum, to the Board of the Next Einstein Initiative, and to the International Advisory Board of the European Regional Economic Forum.
Members
Mr. David Agnew
David Agnew became the President of Seneca College on July 1, 2009. Mr. Agnew brings extensive experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors to Seneca. Most recently he served as the Ombudsman of Banking Services and Investments. Previously, Mr. Agnew was the President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, a Principal at the strategy consulting firm Digital 4Sight and Executive Vice-President and Corporate Secretary for the Credit Union Central of Ontario. Mr. Agnew was also the head of the public service as the Secretary of Cabinet in the Government of Ontario from 1992 to 1995, led the Public-Private Partnerships Project and was Chief of Staff to the Premier of Ontario for two years. He was seconded to the University of Toronto from 1995 to 1996, was a Senior Resident at Massey College and is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Mr. Agnew's experience extends to the field of journalism, having worked as a newspaper reporter in St. John's, Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton.
Mr. Eric Bergeron
Mr. Eric Bergeron has over 20 years of global international management experience in high-tech industries, including business development, sales, technology and finance. He is the Founder of Optosecurity Inc., a venture-funded company that develops breakthrough security products for the Transportation and Critical Infrastructure markets and where he raised $27M of venture capital financing. Prior to starting Optosecurity in 2003, Mr. Bergeron worked for venture capital fund Innovatech Québec, and for US-headquartered Invertix Corporation, where he held the position of Vice President and General Manager – Europe, based in Den Haag, Netherlands. Before that, Mr. Bergeron served as General Manager at encryption software vendor ZKS Inc., and worked for three years at international wireless operator TIW Inc. Mr. Bergeron began his career at Bell Canada, spending eight years in various management positions. He has served on several private sector boards, and is currently board member of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI). Mr. Bergeron holds a M. Sc. degree in Telecommunications from the University of Quebec and a B.A.Sc. degree in Engineering Physics from Laval University, Quebec. He is a member of the IEEE and the Quebec Order of Professional Engineers (OIQ). Mr. Bergeron has completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management Entrepreneurship Development Program in 2010.
Mr. Richard Dicerni
Mr. Richard Dicerni was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry Canada in May 2006. Prior to his appointment, he was a Partner at Mercer Delta Canada (2005 to 2006) and Senior Vice President, Corporate and Environmental Affairs, Executive Vice President and Corporate Secretary, then Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Power Generation Inc. (1997 to 2005). Mr. Dicerni is a former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Newspaper Association (1996 to 1997). He also held several senior positions at the Government of Ontario serving as Deputy Minister, Education and Training, Deputy Minister, Intergovernmental Affairs (1995 to 1996), and Deputy Minister, Environment and Energy and member of the Board of Directors of Ontario Hydro (1992 to 1995). From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Dicerni was Deputy Secretary Public Affairs, Federal-Provincial Relations Office. Prior to this, he held the posts of Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Health and Welfare Canada (1990 – 1991) and Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Policy and Assistant Deputy Minister, Citizenship (1981 to 1989). From 1969 to 1980, Mr. Dicerni held various executive positions within the Public Service. Mr. Dicerni holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Université de Montréal, and a Masters of Public Administration Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Mr. Louis Lévesque
Louis Lévesque was appointed Deputy Minister of International Trade on December 15, 2008. He served as Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Privy Council Office from 2006 to 2008, and as Associate Deputy Minister with Finance Canada from 2004 to 2006. On October 1, 2010, the Prime Minister of Canada named Mr. Lévesque Canada's G-20 Sherpa. The G-20 summit took place in Seoul in November 2010. Mr. Lévesque began his career with Quebec's civil service in 1983 as an economist, first with the Crop Insurance Board and then with the Ministry of Finance. In 1991, Mr. Lévesque joined Finance Canada, where he held such positions as Director General, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, and Director General, Tax Policy Branch. From March 2001 to October 2002, he was Deputy Secretary of Intergovernmental Operations at the Privy Council Office. In 2002, he returned to Finance Canada, where he served as Assistant Deputy Minister in the Federal-Provincial Relations and Social Policy Branch until 2004. Mr. Lévesque was born in the city of Québec. He studied at Laval University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a master's degree in Economics.
Mr. Peter MacKinnon
Mr. Peter MacKinnon is President of the University of Saskatchewan (1999 – present). He previously served the University as Dean of Law and Acting Vice-President (Academic). His academic work includes teaching, primarily in criminal law and evidence and the publication of 25 articles and commentaries in law journals in Canada and abroad. Mr. MacKinnon is also a co-editor of three books. He served a two-year term as Chair for the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and previously served as President of the Canadian Association of Law Teachers in 1981–1982, and as President of the Council of Canadian Law Deans in 1994-1995. Mr. MacKinnon is a member of several public and private sector boards, and he received the 2005 Award for Distinguished Service from the Canadian Bar Association (Saskatchewan Branch). Educated at the University of Saskatchewan, Queen's and Dalhousie, Mr. MacKinnon articled in Kingston and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1975 and to the Law Society of Saskatchewan in 1979. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990. He was a bencher of the Law Society of Saskatchewan for ten years and twice served on its executive committee.
Dr. Terence Matthews
Dr. Terry Matthews is the non-executive Chairman of a number of technology companies including Mitel Corporation, March Networks Corporation, DragonWave Corporation, Newport Networks and Solace Systems. In 1972 Matthews co-founded his first technology company, Mitel Corporation. He is today the non-executive Chairman of the company. Prior to joining Bridgewater, he served as CEO and Chairman of Newbridge Networks Corporation, a company he founded in 1986. Matthews holds an honours degree in electronics from the University of Wales, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Matthews is also the founder of Wesley Clover, an early-stage technology venture capital firm with offices in Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom.
Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum
Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum is the 16th Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. She is a member of McGill's Faculty of Medicine and a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Munroe Blum is an Officer of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and a Specially Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Munroe Blum has dedicated her career to the advancement of higher education, science and innovation, in Canada and internationally, advising governments and other organizations on the role that universities, research and highly qualified talent play in advancing international competitiveness and enriching societies. She is the author of the groundbreaking report Growing Ontario's Innovation System: The Strategic Role of University Research, which led to the creation of a new framework of science policies and programs in Ontario. Active in her community, Dr. Munroe-Blum serves on the Board and the Internationalization Committee of the Association of American Universities, and chairs the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada's Standing Advisory Committee on University Research. She is a member of the U.S. National Research Council's Committee on Research Universities, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Trilateral Commission, and co-chairs the Private Sector Advisory Committee of the Ontario-Quebec Trade and Co-operation Agreement. She serves on the boards of Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, the Conférence de Montréal, the Yellow Pages Group, and the Trudeau Foundation. Dr. Munroe-Blum holds a Ph.D. with Distinction in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mr. David O'Brien
Mr. David O'Brien is Chairman of the Board of Encana and Chairman of the Board of the Royal Bank of Canada. He is a director of Molson Coors Brewing Company and TransCanada Corporation. Mr. O'Brien is also a director of Focus Energy Trust, the E & P Management Partnership (a private energy investment company) and Spur Resources Ltd. (a private exploration company). In the not-for-profit sector, Mr. O'Brien is a director of the C.D. Howe Institute and Chancellor of Concordia University. He was Chairman of the Board since 1990 and interim Chief Executive Officer of PanCanadian Energy Corporation from October 2001 to April 2002 when it merged with Alberta Energy Company Ltd. to form EnCana. Mr. O'Brien was the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Pacific Limited (energy, hotels, and transportation) from May 1996 to October 2001.
Dr. Simon Pimstone
Simon Pimstone is a founder, Director and President and Chief Executive Officer at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately owned clinical genetics-based drug discovery and development company engaged in developing novel therapies based on the genetic causes of select metabolic, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Pimstone received his MD from the University of Cape Town. He is an internal medicine specialist (FRCPC) with an interest in cardiovascular disease. Prior to his specialization, he trained as a clinical research fellow with the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia and obtained his PhD. through the University of Amsterdam in cardiovascular genetics. Dr. Pimstone has served as a consultant physician at the St. Paul's Hospital Lipid Clinic in Vancouver, as a Director of BIOTECanada, a Director of the AllerGEN National Centre of Excellence and as an Advisory Member of the Simon Fraser University Biotech MBA program. He currently serves as a Director of LifeSciences BC and is Chair and Director of the Providence Healthcare Research Trust. He is also a member of the Translation Advisory Committee which serves in an advisory capacity to the PROOF Centre Board of Directors. Dr. Pimstone is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization. In 2005, he received the Business in Vancouver Top 40 under 40 Award and the Globe & Mail's Canadian Top 40 Under 40 Award in 2004.
Mr. J. Robert S. Prichard
J. Robert S. Prichard is the Chair of Torys LLP, an international business law firm, and Chair of the Board of Directors of Metrolinx. He is also past President and Chief Executive Officer of Metrolinx. Metrolinx is the regional transportation authority for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Mr. Prichard is also past President and Chief Executive Officer of Torstar Corporation and President Emeritus of the University of Toronto where he previously served as dean of law and as a professor specializing in law and economics. Mr. Prichard is a director of Bank of Montreal, Onex Corporation and George Weston Ltd. He also serves as Vice-Chair of Canada's Science, Technology and Innovation Council, Chairman of the Visiting Committee of Harvard Law School and a director of the Toronto Community Foundation. Mr. Prichard studied honours economics at Swarthmore College, received his MBA from the University of Chicago and earned law degrees at the University of Toronto and Yale University. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Member of the Order of Ontario and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Dr. Guy Rouleau
Dr. Guy Rouleau, MD, PhD., FRCP(C), OQ is the Canada Research Chair in Genetics of the Nervous System, and is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Université de Montréal. He is also Director of the Research Centre at Saint-Justine Hospital and the Centre for excellence in neuromics of the Université de Montréal. Over the past 18 years, his work has focused on understanding the genetic basis for diseases of the brain. Specifically, he has mapped over 20 disease loci, and significantly contributed to the identification of over 10 gene-causing diseases, as well as to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of numerous diseases.
Dr. Indira Samarasekera
Indira V. Samarasekera (B.Sc., University of Ceylon, M.S., University of California in Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D, University of British Columbia in Metallurgical Engineering) is the 12th president of the University of Alberta, one of Canada's most respected research-intensive universities. She is the Chair of the National Institute of Nanotechnology (NINT) and currently sits on the boards of the Bank of Nova Scotia, Conference Board of Canada, Public Policy Forum and the Presidential Visiting Committee at MIT. A highly regarded leader, she is often invited to speak on higher education, research, science and technology issues at international conferences, roundtables and summits (including the World Economic Forum, the National Science Foundation in the US, the Science and Technology Forum in Japan and Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce in London). Over a professional career spanning three decades, Dr. Samarasekera has distinguished herself as one of Canada's leading metallurgical engineers. She has served as a consultant to nearly one hundred steel companies around the world on steel processing and quality and has published widely on process engineering in the materials field. She has received the Order of Canada and three honorary degrees, among many other honours.
Dr. Molly Shoichet
Dr. Molly Shoichet holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and is Professor of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Chemistry and Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. She is an expert in the study of Polymers for Drug Delivery & Regeneration which are materials that promote healing in the body. Dr. Shoichet has published close to 400 papers, patents and abstracts and has given over 250 lectures worldwide. She currently leads a laboratory of 25 researchers and has graduated 75 researchers over the past 15 years. She founded two spin-off companies from research in her laboratory. Dr. Shoichet is the recipient of such prestigious distinctions as the Canada Council for the Arts' Killam Research Fellowship, NSERC's Steacie Fellowship, CIfAR's Young Explorer's Award (to the top 20 scientists under 40 in Canada), CSChE's Syncrude Innovation Award, Canada's Top 40 under 40th and the Royal Society of Canada's Rutherford Memorial Award. Dr. Shoichet was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Sciences in 2008, the highest distinction awarded to a Canadian scientist. Before being recruited to the University of Toronto in 1995, Dr. Shoichet worked at CytoTherapeutics Inc. on encapsulated cell therapy. Dr. Shoichet received her S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Chemistry (1987) and her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Polymer Science and Engineering (1992).
Dr. Neil Turok
Dr. Neil Turok moved to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in October 2008 as its new Director. Dr. Turok earned his PhD. at Imperial College. After a postdoc in Santa Barbara, he was appointed Associate Scientist at Fermilab before moving to Princeton where he became Professor of Physics in 1994. In 1997 he was appointed to the Chair of Mathematical Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at Cambridge University. Among his many honours, he was awarded Sloan and Packard Fellowships and the 1992 James Clerk Maxwell medal of the UK Institute of Physics. Dr. Turok has worked in a number of areas of theoretical physics and cosmology, focusing on developing fundamental theories and new observational tests. In the early 1990s, his group showed how the polarization and temperature anisotropies of the cosmic background radiation would be correlated, a prediction confirmed in detail by recent precision measurements. Most recently, with Paul Steinhardt at Princeton, he has developed a cyclic model for cosmology, according to which the big bang is explained as a collision between two “brane-worlds” in M-theory. Steinhardt and Turok co-authored the popular science book “Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang”. Born in South Africa, Dr. Turok founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), which opened in 2003. Dr. Turok was recently awarded a prestigious TED Prize and a “Most Innovative People” award at the 2008 World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE). Dr. Turok is a Fellow in the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research Cosmology and Gravitation Program.
Dr. Harvey Weingarten
Dr. Harvey Weingarten has been appointed in July 2010 President of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, an organization mandated to provide policy recommendations to government to improve the quality of the higher education sector. Dr. Weingarten served as the seventh President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calgary from 2001 – 2010. During his tenure, he introduced major initiatives to enhance the student experience, to accelerate research momentum, and to launch the University into a $1.5-billion capital expansion program. A distinguished scholar and researcher in the fields of psychology and medicine, Dr. Weingarten came to the University of Calgary from McMaster University, where he served as Provost and Vice-President (Academic) from 1996 to 2001. He joined McMaster University as a member of the faculty in 1979, and went on to become Chair of that university's Department of Psychology in 1989, full professor in 1990, and Dean of McMaster University's Faculty of Science in 1995. He was the Honorary President of the Canadian Psychological Association for 2002-2003. He currently serves on numerous boards including Alberta Ingenuity, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). A native of Montreal, Dr. Weingarten holds a BSc from McGill University, and an MSc, MPhil, and PhD. from Yale University.
Mr. Rob Wildeboer
Rob Wildeboer is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Martinrea International Inc., a leading North American auto parts supplier, specializing in automotive fluid systems and metal forming products. Martinrea has over 30 plants and 7,000 employees in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Previously, Mr. Wildeboer was a partner of Wildeboer Dellece LLP, a law firm that practices corporate, securities, and tax law that he co-founded in 1993. Prior to that Mr. Wildeboer had been a lawyer with Stikeman, Elliott; an associate professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he taught corporate law and corporate finance; and a regulator with the Ontario Securities Commission. Mr. Wildeboer is Vice-Chairman of Aecon Group Inc., Canada's largest public infrastructure company; a Vice-Chairman of the Auto Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA); a director of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Counsel (CAPC); a member of the Ontario Manufacturing Council; a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Minister of Finance of Canada; Chair of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, one of Canada's leading think tanks; and a director or advisor of numerous private corporations and charitable organizations. Mr. Wildeboer holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph, a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, an MBA from York University and an LLM from Harvard University.
Ms. Glenda Yeates
Ms. Glenda Yeates was appointed Deputy Minister of Health Canada in April 2010, after serving as Associate Deputy Minister of Health Canada since May of 2009. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Yeates served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (2004 to 2009), Deputy Minister of Health in Saskatchewan (1999 to 2004), and as Saskatchewan Deputy Minister of Social Services (1997 to 1999). She held various Assistant and Associate Deputy Minister positions in Saskatchewan Health, and a number of senior posts in the Saskatchewan Department of Finance. Ms. Yeates has served in the past as a board member for Carleton University, the Ontario Change Foundation, and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.
