Tag Archives: Jean Hamel

$$$, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), and the Expert panel for 2025’s The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada + a November 26, 2025 innovation event

Leave a reply

I’m a little late to a July 11, 2024 Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) announcement of the members for an expert panel the an upcoming report on The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada, Note: This will be the fifth report

The science, technology, and innovation (STI) landscape has changed rapidly in recent years, as a result of new technologies, ongoing digitization of the economy, a global pandemic that transformed supply chains, and new global security considerations. Since 2006, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) has been documenting Canada’s standing in this landscape by benchmarking science, technology, and innovation strengths and weaknesses in a series of reports, most recently with Competing in a Global Innovation Economy (2018). At the request of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, CCA has formed an expert panel to provide an updated assessment of developments in the STI ecosystem, the extent to which barriers and knowledge gaps continue to impede innovation, and potential opportunities for Canada. Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, managing partner at TwinRiver Capital, will serve as Chair of the expert panel.

“CCA’s reports on this topic have repeatedly highlighted how Canada has historically excelled in research but struggled with innovation and productivity,” said Dr. Treurnicht. “I look forward to mining the extensive evidence and expertise on the topic to determine how things have evolved over the past few years and what new insights can be gained.”

Dr. Treurnicht is a general partner at North South Ventures, chair of the Public Policy Forum Board, and a director of the Equality Fund and Zentek. She was CEO of MaRS Discovery District in Toronto from 2005-2017. She has an extensive background in scientific research and commercialization, building health and cleantech firms, venture and impact investing, and public policy.

As Chair, Dr. Treurnicht will lead a multidisciplinary group with expertise in academic research, industrial research and development, financing, science and innovation policy, economics, and methodological approaches. The Panel will answer the following question:

What is the state of science, technology, and innovation in Canada, and how does Canada compare internationally?

“We are delighted that Dr. Treurnicht has agreed to take on the role of chair,” said Tijs Creutzberg, President and CEO of the CCA. “This is a timely and important assessment—the data and expert analysis by the panel will inform critical conversations about how Canada can position itself for the future.”

…

The Expert Panel on the State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada:

  • Ilse Treurnicht (chair), Managing Partner, TwinRiver Capital
  • Robert Atkinson, President, ITIF[Information Technology and Innovation Foundation] Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness
  • Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, Senior Director, Digital Economy, Technology and Innovation, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
  • Joel Blit, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Waterloo
  • Christina Freyman, Deputy Director, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation
  • Jean Hamel, Chief Engineer, FPInnovations
  • Kathryn Hayashi, CEO, TRIUMF Innovations; Co-Lead Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem
  • Burhan Hussein, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Concordia University
  • Vincent Larivière, UNESCO Chair on Open Science, Université de Montréal
  • Elicia Maine, W.J. VanDusen Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Associate Vice President, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation, Simon Fraser University
  • Alexandra McCann, Executive Director, ONSIDE
  • R. Sandra Schillo, Associate Professor, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
  • Jeffrey R. Taylor, Associate Vice-President, Applied Research and Innovation, Nova Scotia Community College
  • Hans-Joachim Wieden, Associate Vice-President Partnerships, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation, University of Manitoba

Expert panel members serve as individuals and do not represent the views of their organizations of affiliation or employment.

The skill set for members of the expert panel’s would seem to be highly concentrated in the fields of business, commercialization, entrepreneurship, and economics. As for geographic representation, it’s a bit unusual (but not unheard of) for two people (Robert Atkinson and Christina Freyman) from the US to be members of the expert panel. Usually, the American or Americans are peer reviewers. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as usual, a preponderance of experts from eastern Canada (emphasis on Ontario and Québec) with a few representatives from western Canada and no one from the North. The male/female split is about 50/50.

I missed the fourth report but of the ones I’ve commented on, this one is my favourite, “The Hedy Lamarr of international research: Canada’s Third assessment of The State of Science and Technology and Industrial Research and Development in Canada (1 of 2)” and “The Hedy Lamarr of international research: Canada’s Third assessment of The State of Science and Technology and Industrial Research and Development in Canada (2 of 2)” both published April 12, 2018.

The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada report summary is here.

The Walrus Talks Innovation Nation: November 26, 2025 hybrid event

For those unfamiliar with the magazine, from The Walrus’ Wikipedia entry,

The Walrus is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national speaker series called The Walrus Talks, and branded content for clients through The Walrus Lab.

…

The first issue was in September 2003. Given how tough the publishing environment is, The Walrus has an impressive survival record. Bravo!

Coming up shortly is their innovation event, from The Walrus Talks event page,

Canadian research to real-world solutions

A new federal government is setting its sights on a stronger, more resilient Canada—and the key to getting there is homegrown innovation.

The Walrus Talks Innovation Nation celebrates the transformative research emerging from Canadian universities that’s already shaping how we live, work, and thrive. From life-saving medical breakthroughs to bold climate solutions and cutting-edge artificial intelligence, university-led research is transforming visionary ideas into tangible solutions that are fueling our economy, improving our well-being, and elevating Canada’s global leadership.

Join us in Ottawa or online for an inspiring evening of rapid-fire talks from award-winning researchers and pioneering experts. In dynamic seven-minute presentations, they’ll share how groundbreaking innovation is creating real-world impact—and how Canadian research is defining tomorrow’s possibilities.

…

Featuring seven-minute talks by:

  • Dr. André Blais, Emeritus Professor, Department of Political Science, Université de Montreal
  • Dr. Kyle Bobiwash, Assistant Professor and Indigenous Scholar, Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba
  • Dr. Sarah Burch, Executive Director, Waterloo Climate Institute; Professor, Geography and Environmental Management; Canada Research Chair
  • Dr. Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor, Concordia University
  • Rahul G. Krishnan, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto; Canada CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair
  • Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, Chief Global Strategy Officer, Genome Canada
  • Dr. Gina Ogilvie, MD DrPH FCFP FRSC; Professor and Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Medicine; Associate Director, Women’s Health Research Institute, University of British Columbia
Canadian Museum of Nature,
4th Floor Gallery,
240 McLeod Street, Ottawa
 
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
 
General Admission: $20
Student/Senior: $12
Livestream: Free with registration

….

You can register here.

TAPPI 2012 nanotechnology conference in Canada

Leave a reply

This coming Monday, June 4 to Thursday, June 7, 2012, the Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials conference (2012 TAPPI [Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry] International Conference) will be taking place in Montréal, Québec.

As one might expect, there’s going to be a major emphasis on nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) and Celluforce’s new NCC production plant in Windsor, Québec. Keynote speakers for the conference include (from the Keynote Speakers webpage),

Dr. Dylan J. Boday
Advisory Engineer Team Lead
IBM’s Materials Engineering Laboratory

Dr. Dylan J. Boday is the Advisory Engineer Team Lead for IBM’s Materials Engineering Laboratory. In this role, he leads efforts across multiple divisions to advance technological capabilities and enhance product performance.

Dylan’s research at IBM focuses on creating inventive pathways toward the development of polymers, composites, surface science, nanoparticles and hybrid materials. He has organized several strategic partnerships to leverage new materials development that align with specific business needs for IBM. He also established and now leads a global team focused on the sustainability of IBM’s products and is the co-lead of an upcoming international conference that will focus on the advances and challenges of sustainable materials.

As a member of the American Chemical Society Polymer Board, he provides leadership to the broader polymer science field. His technical contributions have led to more than 30 patent filings in the areas of electrostatic discharge and thermally conductive composites, functional nanomaterials and printed circuit board materials. He also has numerous published articles on composites, self healing materials and anti-corrosion coatings, in addition to serving as a reviewer for several scientific journals. In 2011, he was named an IBM Master Inventor and is a member of the IBM Smarter Planet invention review board.

Dylan holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a doctorate degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Arizona.

Jean Moreau
President and Chief Executive Officer
CelluForce

As President and CEO of CelluForce since February 2011, Jean Moreau brings a wealth of experience in finance, operations and business development which he acquired in both private and public corporations, in various fields including manufacturing, entertainment, distribution and consumer goods.

A chartered accountant for over 10 years at Arthur Andersen and Co., Mr. Moreau was responsible for the acquisition of numerous large companies and plants.

Among others, he headed financial and production planning teams as Vice President of Finance, Paper Production sector and Vice President of Supply for Domtar. As Chief Financial Officer, he was also involved in the introduction of the Supremex Income Fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raising $300M in capital funding and, in addition was responsible for the implementation of a strategic business plan at Guess Canada, which was subsequently named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.

As head of the CelluForce team, Jean wished to promote, within several sectors of activity, the development of commercial applications related to NCC around the world, thus ensuring the company’s manufacturing and commercial growth.

Jean Hamel, Eng.
Vice President
FPInnovations

Jean Hamel, Eng., Vice President, FPInnovations, received his B.Sc. (1983), and M. Eng. (1985), in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sherbrooke. He joined Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (Paprican) as a Research Engineer to work on the technical development, optimization and troubleshooting of paper finishing equipment.

In 1995 he joined St-Laurent Paperboard as a Senior Process Engineer to work on product development, paper machine optimization and start-up of new finishing equipment. In 1996, he returned to Paprican where he led the construction of the pilot paper machine and developed the new Roll Testing Facility, the first business unit concept of the organization. In 2004 he became Manager of the Product Performance Program. Soon after merging of three research institutes (Paprican, Forintek, FERIC) to form FPInnovations in 2007, he was named the Director of Research for the Pulp & Paper Division of FPInnovations where he focused on accelerating the technology transfer and developing new innovation processes.

Since 2009 he has been the Vice President of FPInnovations, leading the innovation program on pulp and paper and shifting the R&D effort to develop new chemicals, biomaterials and composites from wood fibers. He currently sits on the boards of CelluForce, a Domtar-FPInnovations joint venture on nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) production, Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA), ICGQ, ADRIQ and NSERC Green Fiber Network.

Andy Atkinson
Manager, Emerging Sciences Policy
Policy, Planning and Coordination Division
Strategic Policy Branch
Health Canada

Andrew Atkinson is currently Manager of the Emerging Science Policy group under the Strategic Policy Branch of Health Canada.

Andrew is currently overseeing coordination of science policy issues across the various regulatory and research programs under the mandate of Health Canada. Prior to Health Canada, he was a manager under Environment Canada’s CEPA new chemicals program, where he oversaw chemical and nanomaterial risk assessments, as well as the development of risk assessment methodologies.

In parallel to domestic work, he has been actively engaged in ISO and OECD nanotechnology efforts, including co-chairing groups on nomenclature of nano-objects under ISO TC229.

It seems more heavily weighted towards Canadian keynote speakers with, as I hinted earlier,  a special nod to CelluForce. I did glance through the full conference programme and see that there is  healthy representation internationally (Hungary, China, Finland, US, Sweden, Japan, Alberta [sometimes that province does seem like a separate country],  etc.).

After hearing a murmur about developing standards for nanocellulose at the Feb. 2012 annual meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), I was excited to find this on on p. 8 of the conference programme,

The success of the 2011 Workshop on International Standards for Nancellulose has resulted in writing of the Roadmap for the Development of International Standards for Nanocellulose (Draft 4). Since then TAPPI has formed the International Nanocellulose Standards Coordination Committee (INSCC) in its Nanotechnology Division to house and coordinate the execution of the Roadmap. The 2012 Workshop on International Standards for Nancellulose will bring workshop participants up-to-date on nanocellulose standards activities since the completion of the Roadmap (Draft 4), initiate coordination activities in several areas of nanocellulose standards development, and if necessary, discuss revisions to the Roadmap.

Perhaps one of these days they’ll have a final version of their Roadmap.

I last mentioned this annual conference in my Sept. 24, 2009 posting when it was held in Alberta and made passing references to the 2010 edition in Finland during an interview (my Aug. 27, 2010 posting) with Dr. Richard Berry of FPInnovations and to the 2011 edition in Washington, DC in my June 6, 2011 posting about the formation, by Domtar and FPInnovations, of CelluForce.

As for the 2012 edition, I wonder if they considered inviting Janelle Tam, the 16 year old student who won a national award for her work on a new application for NCC (my Disease-fighting and anti-aging with nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) and Janelle Tam posting on May 11, 2012) to this conference. In any event, her national win entitled her to compete for an international award in Boston, Massachusetts June 18, 2012.