Return to CPROST Home Page
The ISRN was funded by SSHRC in 2001 to carry out a five year project to analyze industrial clusters in the different regions of Canada. The network has been successful in bringing together an interdisciplinary team. and in developing a cadre of graduate students. ISRN has provided policy advice to officials at both the federal and provincial levels.
The project confirmed the importance of place and geography in the regional innovation systems of Canada, particularly at the city, or census metropolitan area (CMA) level. The new ISRN is examining three factors in a number of Canadian city-regions (CMAs): social dynamics of innovation, factors affecting the attraction and retention of talent, and social inclusion and civic engagement:
The Ministry of Advanced Education (AVED) of the Province of BC is funding a study on the returns on the investments in university research in BC. This project is based on the hypothesis that while there are measurable, but often small, returns from license fees, patents, etc., coming from university research, the real return is in the increased value of the human capital of post-graduate students trained in university research programs. More importantly there is incremental value to both graduate students themselves, and society in general, of obtaining research experience that was at least partially funded by an agency external to the university, since this experience is not self-funded, but selected by an arm’s-length agency
The Leonardo Institute, sponsored by the Faculty of Applied Science, provides senior postgraduate students with an exposure to interdisciplinary S&T policy and management issues which will enable them to “to become in their own careers the leaders and creative agents for change”. The purpose of this institute is to enhance their skills outside their narrow field of study and stimulate thinking through which the candidates can become leaders early on in their professional careers not only as experts within their own specialty but also as potential leaders within civil society as a whole. The institute takes place in the summer term and consists of a number of seminars and workshops.
The convergence of computers and communications, and the accelerating growth of global information networking is beginning to have profound impact on the organization of disaster mitigation, planning and response at all levels of society. During the past decade, Peter Anderson through CPROST and its associated Telematics Research Laboratory (TRL) have been participating in these developments through applied disaster communication research in Canada and abroad in collaboration with civil emergency organizations at all levels of government and with the United Nations and international disaster relief organizations.
Why and how do consumers or industrial users adopt new information technologies or services? Dr. Catherine Murray focuses on demographics, behavioural, and attitudinal change -- how change preference is formed and how resistance to change or consumer inertia is framed in the unfolding multimedia universe.
Morley Lipsett has for several years studied the Canadian federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit program with particular emphasis on its use by firms in B.C. He and his associates provide briefings and advice to interested stakeholders.
Dr. Gordon Gow’s comparative study examines the regulatory treatment of prepaid services in the 30 OECD member states in order to contribute to an informed policy debate on communication technologies and privacy rights in Canada.
A trans-disciplinary team of researchers will work together to take novel molecules and nanomaterials from the chemistry lab into the clinical setting to develop new and innovative strategies for medical imaging, diagnostics, surgery and drug delivery. The Research Team includes internationally successful researchers in organic, inorganic, materials and bio-organic chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry, kinesiology and computer sciences, working synergistically to create, apply and test novel approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer and kidney stones as their first targets. The team also extends into SFU's Faculty of Business Administration to capture an important source of expertise, and the work will be carried out under the guidance of experts in the fields of ethics, medicine and medical imaging to ensure a seamless and rapid application of breakthroughs to real life problems.
Return to CPROST Home Page