| Canada and the United States: the Science and Technology Counsellor Perspective |
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bridges vol. 21, April 2009 / Feature Articles By Valerie La Traverse Since my predecessor last wrote in bridges in 2004, there has been significant change on both sides of the Canada-US border, with new elected officials in both countries resulting in a new S&T policy realm. One thing has not changed: Canada and the US still continue to enjoy a strong collaborative relationship in all areas of science and technology. This is, in a way, representative of the greater and unique Canada-US relationship: We share the world's largest and most comprehensive trading relationship, a common border that stretches across 8,893 kilometers (5,526 miles) of land and three oceans, and stewardship of a rich and diverse environment, including 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water in the Great Lakes. You can imagine the possibilities and opportunities to work together in the area of S&T. While we continue not to have an overarching S&T agreement, the US and Canada have literally hundreds of agency-to-agency S&T arrangements or memoranda of understanding (MOU), which provide an enhanced level of collaboration with US entities. These are in addition to the extensive integration at the grassroots level. Broad areas of collaboration between the US and Canada include biomedical research, space, information and communication technologies (ICT), energy, environment, and Arctic research. A diverse range of bilateral projects includes Neptune, the world's largest cable-linked seafloor observatory; collaboration between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Canada's National Research Council (NRC) to develop measurement standards for nanotechnology; and collaborations between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the various institutes of the Canadian Health Research Institutes (CIHR) in the areas of cardiovascular health, neuroscience, infectious diseases, and cancer research. Another important Canada-US project is the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) between several of Canada's major research universities and California's university research system (nine major universities). CCSIP has established working groups to address three crosscutting issues (attracting risk capital, managing intellectual property, and ensuring a free flow of faculty and students between the two jurisdictions), and also five substantive areas of research and development: ICT/broadband, stem cells, clean energy, infectious diseases, and nanotechnology. One of the early successes is a major collaborative research agreement with California for cancer stem cell research. Canada has worked very closely with the American space programs since the creation of NASA, when Canadian engineers and scientists played key roles in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Canada has also played a collaborative role in many of the leading satellite programs (telecom, remote sensing, and deep space exploration). The 1981 deployment of the Canadarm, the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, has inspired several generations of scientists and engineers as they develop new technologies for industry, medicine, and other applications. Access to the full article is free, but requires you to register. Registration is simple and quick – all we need is your name and a valid e-mail address. We appreciate your interest in bridges. |
