5.6 million investment
Four new Canada Research Chairs at the University of Ottawa
Four new Canada Research Chairs will be established at the University of Ottawa. The announcement was made today by the Honorable Allan Rock, minister of Industry, when he revealed the names of 88 new Canada Research Chairs in 33 Canadian universities.
"The University of Ottawa is extremely proud to welcome four new Chairs, which represents $5.6 million in funding," explained Rector Gilles Patry. "The Canada Research Chairs and the University of Ottawa share a vision of stimulating and nurturing a culture of innovation that will contribute to a stronger economy and a better quality of life for Canadians everywhere."
The recipients of the Canada Research Chairs are:
Innovation strategy: John de la Mothe
Globalization and culture: Walter Moser
Collective intelligence: Pierre Lévy
Health equity: Dr Peter Tugwell
Each Chair comes with $200,000 in annual funding and is renewable for a seven-year period. The key objective of the Canada Research Chairs Program is to enable Canadian universities, together with their affiliated research institutes and hospitals, to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and to become world-class research centres in the global, knowledge-based economy.
The University of Ottawa offers 220 programs in numerous disciplines to more than 26,000 students. North America's largest bilingual university, it conducts leading-edge research in all major scientific fields and boasts Ontario's second largest graduate studies and co-operative education programs. The University's location in Ottawa, the hub of Canada's political and high-tech life, allows students and faculty access to unique resources and provides a privileged window on the world.
Background Information
Canada Research Chair in Innovation Strategy
John de la Mothe
As Chair in Innovation Strategy, John de la Mothe is undertaking in-depth, pioneering research to develop a new framework to advance understanding of technological, innovation and policy/strategic systems interactions. His work will offer unique insights on issues related to technology in the knowledge-based economy, such as privacy, information security, intellectual property and e-commerce. John de la Mothe is the founding editor of the book series "Science, Technology and the International Political Economy" (London/New York) and a science-technology and innovation policy advisor to organizations such as NATO, the Canadian Government, and the OECD.
Canada Research Chair in Technology and Knowledge Transfers
Pierre Lévy
"Collective intelligence" is defined as the capacity of human communities to co-operate intellectually in creation, innovation and invention. As our society becomes more and more knowledge-dependent, this collective ability becomes of fundamental importance. French "cyber-philosopher" Pierre Lévy was essentially the first to focus research on collective intelligence when it became a determining factor in the competitiveness, creativity and human development of knowledge-based societies. The chair, to be headed by Pierre Levy, will seek to develop certain aspects of a cultural evolution theory, further understand knowledge management in digital networks, study intercultural dialogues in interactive multimedia arts and see how certain behavioural traits fostering collective intelligence in a given population can promote human development. Pierre Lévy is currently a visiting professor at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. The new Chair will allow him to remain in Canada indefinitely.
Canada Research Chair in Cultural and Litterary Transfers
Walter Moser
Globalization of the economy entails more than the economic benefits to our societies: its effects are also cultural. Where does culture fit into this emerging new world? How is culture influenced by political, social and technological change? Is culture itself an agent of change? Those are the questions that Walter Moser will try to answer. Professor Moser is a co-founder of the Université de Montréal Department of Comparative Literature and has been a visiting professor in the most prestigious institutions of South America and Europe. The Chair to be headed by Professor Moser will seek to further understand cultural and literary transfers and investigate the conditions that give rise to cultures. Research will take place in Canada, Latin America, Europe and elsewhere in North America.
Canada Research Chair in Global Health
Peter Tugwell
As the new Chair in Global Equity, Dr. Peter Tugwell's focus will be to research how to improve the health of our society's most vulnerable citizens. He has assembled a multidisciplinary team to study socioeconomic inequalities and inequities in health in Canada and in developing countries. Throughout his career, Dr. Tugwell has partnered with experts around the world working in other universities, at all levels of government, and in prominent organizations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organization. The ultimate goals of Dr. Tugwell's ambitious research are to reduce socioeconomic inequalities, and to improve the health of poor and middle classes everywhere.
