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> $430,000 donation strengthens wireless research at SFU
$430,000 donation strengthens wireless research at SFU
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Contact:
Rodney Vaughan, 604.268.6889, rodney_vaughan@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, SFU Media & PR, 604.291.3035
Jane Thomas, ASI, 604.669.1180, ext. 238
Andrea Dyck, Sierra Wireless, 604.233.7823
Rodney Vaughan, 604.268.6889, rodney_vaughan@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, SFU Media & PR, 604.291.3035
Jane Thomas, ASI, 604.669.1180, ext. 238
Andrea Dyck, Sierra Wireless, 604.233.7823
December 5, 2003
A generous, three-year $180,000 commitment from Sierra Wireless and a four-year research fellowship worth $250,000 from the Advanced Systems Institute of BC (ASI) will strengthen wireless communication research at Simon Fraser University.
The combined $430,000 will create the Sierra Wireless Chair in wireless telecommunications, an ASI Research Fellowship in SFU’s school of engineering science, and help support research in this field.
Sierra Wireless, a technology company with corporate headquarters in Richmond, B.C., is an industry leader in providing wireless communication solutions that operate in global markets. "We are committed to strengthening the relationship between industry and universities by supporting faculty and students," says Norman Toms, chief technical officer at Sierra Wireless. "We are proud to make an impact on the communities in which we do business by supporting SFU and our future generation."
ASI, a non-profit foundation linking academic research, industry and investment in B.C.’s technology community, has supported over 85 new faculty at B.C. universities through its Research Fellowship Program.
"ASI is very pleased to partner with Sierra Wireless and SFU in creating this opportunity to advance wireless research," says Victor Jones, president and executive director of ASI. "This is an excellent example of industry and academia coming together to strengthen research in B.C. in a growth industry."
The recent appointee to the chair, Rodney Vaughan, is a renowned researcher in the field of mobile telecom research, where he has created new antenna and signal processing designs that are widely used in industry. Most recently a senior research engineer with Industrial Research Ltd. in New Zealand, he comes to SFU as an electrical engineering professor. He will also hold the ASI research fellowship.
Vaughan says his research will focus on technologies for new systems that will drastically improve how well the radio spectrum is used. "The consequences of such research," says Vaughan, "will be enhanced product opportunities for both new entrepreneurs and existing high tech companies, and better products and processes for the public."
"Industry support for academic research and development is extremely important as a way of augmenting public funding for the university's research mission," says SFU President Michael Stevenson. "We are grateful for the leadership that Sierra Wireless and ASI have demonstrated."
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The combined $430,000 will create the Sierra Wireless Chair in wireless telecommunications, an ASI Research Fellowship in SFU’s school of engineering science, and help support research in this field.
Sierra Wireless, a technology company with corporate headquarters in Richmond, B.C., is an industry leader in providing wireless communication solutions that operate in global markets. "We are committed to strengthening the relationship between industry and universities by supporting faculty and students," says Norman Toms, chief technical officer at Sierra Wireless. "We are proud to make an impact on the communities in which we do business by supporting SFU and our future generation."
ASI, a non-profit foundation linking academic research, industry and investment in B.C.’s technology community, has supported over 85 new faculty at B.C. universities through its Research Fellowship Program.
"ASI is very pleased to partner with Sierra Wireless and SFU in creating this opportunity to advance wireless research," says Victor Jones, president and executive director of ASI. "This is an excellent example of industry and academia coming together to strengthen research in B.C. in a growth industry."
The recent appointee to the chair, Rodney Vaughan, is a renowned researcher in the field of mobile telecom research, where he has created new antenna and signal processing designs that are widely used in industry. Most recently a senior research engineer with Industrial Research Ltd. in New Zealand, he comes to SFU as an electrical engineering professor. He will also hold the ASI research fellowship.
Vaughan says his research will focus on technologies for new systems that will drastically improve how well the radio spectrum is used. "The consequences of such research," says Vaughan, "will be enhanced product opportunities for both new entrepreneurs and existing high tech companies, and better products and processes for the public."
"Industry support for academic research and development is extremely important as a way of augmenting public funding for the university's research mission," says SFU President Michael Stevenson. "We are grateful for the leadership that Sierra Wireless and ASI have demonstrated."
-30-