Category Archives: Op-eds

Does the “I” in CFI really stand for “Innovation”?

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Is it the Canadian Foundation for Innovation or really the Canadian Foundation for Infrastructure? The modus operandi of the CFI has skewed university priorities and strained their finances, diverted provincial resources, put pressure on the NSERC and CIHR budgets to … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 4 Comments

Hon. Ministers Clement and Goodyear, Please target this!

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Your era at the helm of Canada’s national strategy for research and development, has been one of action, proactive leadership in research policy, tight management of federally funded programs, as well as increased and sustained support for certain research areas. … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 1 Comment

If the “binning” of Canada’s scientists is here to stay, then here is a way to fix it!

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Ghoussoub

NSERC has recently adopted a new evaluation system for its Discovery Grants. It relies on a “binning system”, that is based on a fragmented decision-making process. It has been widely criticized for its volatility, its lack of uniformity, and for its … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 3 Comments

If Canada’s Academia is a monster, then what are education consultants?

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Ghoussoub

What’s with all these Toronto-based consultants on higher education? They very probably never taught a class, let alone one with 600 students. They have definitely never carried out a major research project that took months and years of sweat and … Continue reading →

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Gutsy statement by Robert Birgeneau

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Earlier this week, Robert J. Birgeneau, former President of the University of Toronto and current Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, issued a surprisingly blunt and gutsy statement about the Arizona shootings. In a campus wide e-mail, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds | 2 Comments

The R&D expert panel and the $7-billion that won’t buy much

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Ghoussoub

A Government R&D review expert panel is working on figuring out why Canada lags behind many of its peers in capitalizing on research advances despite Ottawa’s $7-billion innovation budget. They are asking for input. Front line researchers are urged to … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 11 Comments

Israeli-Palestinian Peace: UBC Admin. 1 – AMS 0

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Last Saturday I attended a forum on “Building Peace between Israelis and Palestinians” at UBC’s Chan Centre. Kudos to the UBC Administration, and in particular to Stephen Owen, UBC’s Vice-President External and Legal, and his colleagues  for organizing such a … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds | 2 Comments

Move over Hilbert, here comes DARPA

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Would-be mathematicians learn about David Hilbert’s 23 problems way before they even learn how to ask someone for a first date. Presented by Hilbert at the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Paris in 1900, these problems stimulated mathematical research … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 1 Comment

Let’s not make a habit out of this!

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Ghoussoub

The UBC faculty and the UBC Board of Governors have just ratified their collective agreement for 2010-2011. That’s six months after the previous contract had expired on June 30, 2010. I wasn’t the only one surprised by this turn of … Continue reading →

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Mathematicians’ stress level = 12.780

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Ghoussoub

“Mathematician was listed as second best job in the world in the  latest poll based on salary/cushy working conditions …appreciate your life”, texted my daughter from her political science class, this morning.

Posted in Op-eds | 1 Comment

What’s with the Borg and Quest University?

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Remember “Quest University? “Canada’s first independent, not-for-profit, nonsectarian university of the liberal arts and sciences”. Known to most of us as the private university in Squamish, BC, founded by UBC’s former President David Strangway? Current enrollment: 300 undergraduate students. Tuition … Continue reading →

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A happy new year built on informed consent

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Ghoussoub

Let it be a year where “the unrestricted flow of information is again seen as the life of democracies”, and — I may add– of strong national and international institutions. No, I am not talking Wikileaks, but about more mundane … Continue reading →

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UA oil-sands researchers need to talk more to each other

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Ghoussoub

Yesterday, a panel sponsored by the Royal Society of Canada and dominated by University of Alberta scientists released a report,  that some viewed as exonerating for Alberta’s oil-sands reputation. The National Post points to the following paragraph of the report:

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The RSC’s mining of the oil sands … data

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Ghoussoub

“Oil Industry gets a do-over” according to yesterday’s National Post. Its editorial board is pointing to “an exhaustive new study on Alberta’s oil sands” released today by the “impartial Royal Society of Canada”.

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Tu quoque fili

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Ghoussoub

Gordon Campbell is not gone yet, but the Business council of British Columbia can hardly wait to start dismantling one of his main legacies. It is urging the Liberals to “pause and re-set” their climate policies — noting that “the … Continue reading →

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A post-secondary education system with no arbitrage

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Ghoussoub

The British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education surprised local post-secondary educators this month when it declared a six-month moratorium, starting Sept. 1, on new degree programs, saying it wants to take time to assess the province’s educational needs.

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 1 Comment

Turning Canada into, and branding it as, a hyper-skilled society?

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Ghoussoub

Canada is in a global war for talent, yet there is a crisis in our graduate and postgraduate educational system. Our government is committed to create “the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world”, yet for the 10th … Continue reading →

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The hidden value of the CERC program

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Ghoussoub

Bill C-470 drafted by Liberal MP for Mississauga East-Cooksville, Albina Guarnieri, passed first reading in Parliament in October. It was supposed to be a call to arms against charities whose salary structures make “a mockery of the concept of a … Continue reading →

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Doubt is our product

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Ghoussoub

In a recent book, “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming”, US historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway take on those they say have sown doubt about … Continue reading →

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Love in the age of algorithms

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Ghoussoub

  “Is Math replacing independent thought”, screams the front page of today’s Globe and Mail (the title has been mercifully changed since this morning!). It is simply hard to believe that such a silly article can be written and published. … Continue reading →

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