Tag Archives: Reza Moridi

2016 Canadian Science Policy Conference started in Ottawa (Canada) today, Nov. 8, 2016

For those of us following from afar, the 2016 Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC), being held in Ottawa from Nov. 8 – 10, 2016, offers us Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram options, all of which you can find here.

There are a number of symposia sessions this morning, Nov. 8, 2016 (ET) but the conference proper doesn’t seem to get started until the afternoon. Here are a few of the sessions the organizers want to highlight (from a Nov. 4, 2016 CSPC announcement received via email),

CSPC 2016 kicks off with an exciting and informative Keynote Session. The Honorable Dr. Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Research, Innovation and Science (left), and Dr. Arthur McDonald, joint winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics (right) will address the significance of fundamental research in economic growth.  This discussion will be moderated by Victoria Kaspi, astrophysicist and a professor at McGill University. This session takes place on Tuesday, November 8 [2016], at 6:30 pm

Our second Keynote Session features Homa Hoodfar, a sociocultural anthropologist and professor emerita of anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal. She was detained while travelling in Iran and spent 112 days in jail there. She will speak on Science, Human Rights and Academic Freedom. This session will begin at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, November 9 [2016].

Plenary Session: Collaboration and Cooperation on the Challenge of Clean Energy: An International Perspective, Wednesday, November 9 [2016], at 8:30 am.

This plenary session brings together perspectives from global leaders in academia, government (Canadian and foreign), and industry. The panel will discuss potential innovative intergovernmental mechanisms that will enable all sectors to work together to bring about a transformation in clean energy S&T.

Plenary Session:  Converging Science: Fostering Innovation through a New Model of Transdisciplinary Research, Thursday, November 10 [2016], at 8:30 am.

This plenary session aims to address the following: identify opportunities and barriers to the convergence of disciplines and fields of research; discuss strategies that could be developed to enable the potential of convergence; and debate the possibility of developing and implementing new strategies and organizational structures that could improve the effectiveness of the Canadian research enterprise.

Panel: Building Capacity for Science Policy In Canada! organized by CSPC, Wednesday Nov 9 [2016], 1:30
We encourage everyone to attend this session and present recommendations and be part of the capacity building in Science Policy in Canada.

This is an interactive session that will discuss the practical recommendations on how to build capacity in science policy the gaps and priorities, and how CSPC can be more effective as a HUB for sharing resources, disseminating knowledge and becoming a Think-Do Tank in Science Policy.

You can still register for the conference, unless you’re a student (that category has sold out). If this is all too precipitate for you, there’s the 2017 CSPC, which for the third year in a row take place in Ottawa when it will celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary.

2013 (5th annual) Canadian Science Policy Conference announces some new (for this year) initiatives

An Oct. 29, 2013  announcement highlights some of the speakers you can expect at the 2013 (5th annual) Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) being held in Toronto, Ontario from Nov. 20 – 22, 2013. The conference whose overarching theme is ScienceNext: Incubating Innovation and Ingenuity features (Note: I have bolded this year’s new initiatives),,

CSPC 2013 Welcomes Minister Rickford:
We are thrilled to announce that the Honourable Greg Rickford, [Canada’s] Minister of State (Science and Technology, and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario) will speak at CSPC 2013, more details to follow. Be sure not to miss it, register now!

Are you the next Rick Mercer? Bill Nye?
CSPC presents its first ever humorous speech contest, Whose Science is it Anyway? Thursday, November 21st at 9pm. To enter, send your name, contact info and 2-3 lines about your story to aanchal.kamra@gmail.com. Attractive prizes to be won! Deadline: 5pm, Friday, Nov. 15 (Finalists will be notified Monday, Nov. 18)

CSPC is now Accepting Donations:
We are quite pleased to announce that with the generous support from Ryerson University, CSPC can issue charitable tax receipts for donations. If you wish to donate please contact us or visit cspc2013.ca for more details. www.cspc2013.ca

> CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• 600+ participants, 28 panel sessions, 150+ speakers including:

– Hon. Reza Moridi, MPP,Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation

– John Knubley, Deputy Minister, Industry Canada

– Robert Hardt, President and CEO, Siemens Canada Limited

– Wendy Cukier, Vice President of Research and Innovation, Ryerson University

– Pierre Meulien, President and CEO, Genome Canada

– Paul Young, Vice President Research, University of Toronto

More exciting names are being added to the Program.

Inauguration of the Awards of Excellence in Science Policy – a first in Canada

• 3 pre conference full day workshops/symposiums

– Science Policy Nuts and Bolts
– Science Diplomacy
– Communication of Science

> CONFERENCE HONORARY CO-CHAIRS

• The Honourable Michael H. Wilson, Chairman, Barclays Capital Canada Inc. and Chancellor, University of Toronto

• Mandy Shapansky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Canada Ltd.

> CSPC 2013 CONFERENCE THEMES

• Private Sector R&D and Innovation: New Realities and New Models

• Emerging Trends: Science & Technology in International Trade and Diplomacy

• Science and Technology Communication

• Graduate Studies and Research Training: Prospects in a Changing Environment

• Emerging Issues in Canadian Science Policy

A couple of comments. I notice that Member of Parliament (NDP) Kennedy Stewart,, the Official Opposition Critic for Science and Technology, and member of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, is included as a feature speaker this year. Last year (2012), he held an impromptu, after official conference presentation hours sessions on science policy. Good to see that he’s been included in the official programme for 2013. Perhaps next year (2014) will see the Liberal critic for Science and Technology. Ted Hsu as a speaker.

Pierre Lapointe is another speaker whose name caught my attention as he is the President and Chief Executive Officer of FPInnovations, one of the partners behind CelluForce (the other partner is Domtar), the Canadian nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC, aka, cellulose nanocrystals, CNC) initiative. In my Oct. 3, 2013 posting,  I noted that CelluForce had stopped producing NCC as they had a stockpile of the product. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there’ll be any mention of the stockpile since Lapointe is on a panel organized by Genome Canada and titled: The complexity of driving the bio-economy: Genomics, Canada’s natural resources and private-public collaborations.