Charlottetown Rotary Club members joined the Province of PEI today in the launch of a February speaker series on innovation, as part of the Year of Learning and Innovation celebrations.
The first speaker in the Innovation Series was Dr. Michael Mayne, lead scientist at the National Research Council Institute for Nutrisciences and Health. He spoke to the club today about the new Institute, which is expected to open at UPEI in 2006.
The Institute will bring academic and government researchers together with industry leaders in collaborative biomedical research activities on how naturally occurring compounds can benefit human and animal health. The institute will be housed in a new 50,000-square-foot science building, to be constructed north of the Atlantic Veterinary College. The Institute, supported by the Province of PEI, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, National Research Council, and the University of Prince Edward Island, will house approximately 80 personnel including NRC and university researchers, trainees, visiting scientists and other support staff.
Dr. Mayne advised that his team is making good planning progress, and they are receiving positive interest from well-respected scientists and researchers. "The fact that Prince Edward Island has a strong bioresource economy and many collaborative research activities already in place, is making our work much easier," said Dr. Mayne. "It is innovation that drives the economy forward. By bringing academic and corporate partners together, the Institute will become a world-class research facility and a centre of innovation in the Atlantic region."
UPEI president and vice-chancellor Wade MacLauchlan will address the club Monday, February 9. His speech is titled "Building a Knowledge Economy in PEI."
The third speaker is Peter Toombs, president of Diversified Metal Engineering, who will speak February 23 on marine eco-silencer development.
The year 2004 was proclaimed by Premier Binns as the Year of Learning and Innovation in Prince Edward Island. The celebration commemorates 200 years of learning and innovation, dating back to 1804 when Lieutenant Governor Edmund Fanning set aside ten town lots for the first college in the province.
For more information on the Year of Learning and Innovation, contact Heather Orford, Department of Education, 902 368 5984.