Dalhousie gains four new Canada Research Chairs

November 18, 2004

Dalhousie gains four new Canada Research Chairs

by Charles Crosby

Four new Canada Research Chairs at Dalhousie were announced by IndustryMinister David Emerson in a Vancouver news conference recently. Theresearch of Helmuth Thomas, Jonathan Borwein, Renee Lyons and FrançoiseBaylis will address topics such as climate change and the oceans,collaborative technologies, health care and disease prevention, and socialquestions related to issues like cloning and stem cell research."We are extremely pleased with the Canada Research Chairs program,"saysCarl Breckenridge, Dalhousie's Vice President, Research. "As demonstrated inthe current and previous announcements the program is assisting Dalhousie inrecruiting researchers from abroad and across Canada, which is helping us tobuild our research capacity in areas of identified research strength at theuniversity."

Helmuth Thomas, the new Canada Research Chair in Marine Biochemistry, comes to Dalhousie from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. His work looks at coastal carbon cycles, key factors in climate change processes. By quantifying and studying carbon flows from land to ocean in eastern Canada and northwestern Europe, Thomas' research will help improve knowledge of the marine world, and increase the ability to predict changes in the carbon cycle based on environmental factors.

Jonathan Borwein of Simon Fraser University comes to Dalhousie as the new Canada Research Chair in Advanced Computation and Collaboration. Borwein's research is aimed at developing new technologies and understanding how people collaborate in advanced research, in order to improve long-distance interactions between researchers, universities and industry. Dalhousie's own Renee Lyons is the new Canada Research Chair in Health Promotion. With a focus on rural health and chronic disease prevention, her research will attempt to reduce the incidence and severity of chronic illnesses, such as strokes, by identifying the effects of social environments on health.

Françoise Baylis, also a Dal professor, will be the new Canada Research Chair in Bioethics and Philosophy. Baylis will explore fundamental philosophical questions about our social and moral obligations to future generations, with respect to emerging technologies such as stem cell research and cloning.

"We're proud that the funding announced today will support research by Canada's leading scholarly and scientific minds," says Prime Minister Martin. "From health care, to the environment, to building stronger communities, the work of these Canada Research Chairs will have a direct impact on the lives of Canadians and help position Canada as a world leader in the 21st century economy."

The Government of Canada established the Canada Research Chairs Program in 2000. The Program was provided with $900 million to support the creation of 2,000 Canada Research Chairs. The key objective of the Canada Research Chairs Program is to enable Canadian universities, together with affiliated research institutes and hospitals, to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and strengthen this country's research infrastructure.