Tag Archives: Mitacs

Interview with a mathematician: Nassif Ghoussoub

Originally posted on The Intrepid Mathematician:
Nassif Ghoussoub is the founder and current director of the Banff International Research Station, the founding director of the Pacific Institute of Mathematics, and the co-founder of MITACS NCE. On top of all that,…

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some unedited thoughts for Canada’s fundamental science review panel

The Government bureaucracy seems to be buckling under the sheer number of reviews that the liberal government is currently conducting. One of them is focused on “determining the strengths of our current arrangements and pinpointing gaps and bottlenecks in Canada’s … Continue reading

Posted in R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Humbled and Proud

All I could think of when the phone call from the Governor General office came was the friendly face of the immigration officer who signed my residence papers more than 36 years ago. I hadn’t applied for a refugee’s visa, … Continue reading

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

An activist you are!

The letter from the president of The University of Victoria informing me about my honorary doctorate was a complete surprise. “My former graduate students and postdocs, who are now on the faculty at UVic, must have been behind this nomination,” I … Continue reading

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why Canada’s research granting councils mean so little to this government’s agenda

NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR, Canada’s main granting agencies in support of university research are not doing well. Their total absence from Budget 2015 is only one of many symptoms indicating how tired they are. Tired are their ways in trying … Continue reading

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

UBC appoints a doer as its 13th President

Once again, UBC has steered clear of appointing a career university administrator for its top position. Unlike UofT and UVic, who opted for the ultimate insiders, and McGill, who went for a consummate bureaucrat, UBC has chosen to appoint a … Continue reading

Posted in Banff International Research Station, Board of Governors, Honouring friends, Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Budget 2014 is nothing short of a paradigm shift for Canada’s research and innovation

The substantial investment in university research that the Canadian government announced today is not the only story in Budget 2014. A bigger story may be the pivotal moment and the policy shift that it represents for this government on a … Continue reading

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Thank You Notes

The conference held at UBC on the occasion of my 60th birthday has come and gone, and I am still overwhelmed by the generosity and friendship shown by all attendees and organizers. And I am still awed by the powerful, deep and … Continue reading

Posted in Honouring friends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NSERC, Math, Stats, Innovation and all that jazz

Last weekend, representatives of Canada’s mathematical and statistical sciences community presented NSERC’s President, Suzanne Fortier, with a “Long Range Plan.” Entitled Solutions for a Complex Age, the report – commissioned by NSERC – is the result of two years of consultations and deliberations under … Continue reading

Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Stock options” in the business of building research capacity

A highlight of my latest visit to Ottawa was a reunion with my friends and former brothers-in-arms, Don Dawson and Luc Vinet, at the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal Ceremony. Our role in founding the MITACS network back in another millennium … Continue reading

Posted in Honouring friends | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The business community to the rescue of the research community

Tuesday’s UBC Board of Governors meeting was the best I’ve witnessed in my last four years on the Board. A worthwhile agenda loaded with potentially transformational items, a great display of sound “governing” by the Governors, a magnificent presentation by … Continue reading

Posted in Board of Governors | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments