In a series of events this past week, TRIUMF and the University of British Columbia (UBC) were honoured multiple times for their success in the national competition for the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) Program. Of the 11 awards around the country, UBC is involved in 5 of them, including the $15-million award made to TRIUMF to form the company Advanced Applied Physics Solutions, Inc. (AAPS).
At a ceremony on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, Vancouver city Mayor Sam Sullivan issued a proclamation in City Council that recognized UBC and TRIUMF for their success. Vice President Research John Hepburn also made some remarks. The ceremony can be viewed online.
On Thursday, March 13, 2008, TRIUMF was again honoured at several events. The presidents of two of the three granting councils, NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR, visited TRIUMF to meet with director Nigel Lockyer, AAPS CEO Phil Gardner, and Chair of the Board Edward Odishaw. They discussed the intent of the CECR Program, solicited feedback on the competition process, and toured some of the TRIUMF facilities. In a special ceremony later that day, UBC president Stephen J. Toope recognized all the CECR winners associated with the University. He noted that these successes would not have been possible without the broader fabric of basic research made possible by the granting councils and the university research system. Suzanne Fortier, president of NSERC, also delivered a special message from Minister of Industry Jim Prentice.
The day was crowned by UBC’s annual Celebrate Research Week Gala, an event that recognizes the more than 450 individual awards made to UBC faculty and researchers over the past year. TRIUMF has traditionally helped sponsor this delightful evening, and this year was no exception.
by Tim Meyer
TRIUMF's Head of Strategic Planning and Communications
Banner Photo: From left to right: Ann Fong, Jean Saint-Vil, Edward Odishaw, Jean-Claude Gavrel, Suzanne Fortier, Jean-Michel Poutissou, Nigel Lockyer, Pierre Chartrand, Phil Gardner, Wayne Swim, Doug Bryman.