Search

"Because opportunities are so few and far between, we are in fact sacrificing the future to pay for the present." --Lennard Fisk, space science professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

"Generally, I find that people are attracted to enthusiasm if it's unfettered and for the right reasons," says Hendrik Poinar, director of McMaster University's Ancient DNA Laboratory.

"Everything on Earth has a location attached to it, and geomatics engineers measure and map that," explains Elizabeth Cannon, world expert in GPS technology. "Software simply is the tool of choice in our tool kit that allows us to test and develop newer and better methodologies."

For some applicants, just competing for the Pathways award was a valuable experience.

Corporate sponsorship can provide not only funding but also access to information that's difficult to pull together, insight into techniques the corporation is experienced with, and access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable.

"While this may not necessarily be the way to get a government job," says Candace Robinson, team leader for the physical, earth sciences, and ecology NSERC fellowship programs, "it is a good way to get experience in government and see if it's something that you like."

"The government of Canada's investment in researchers through the CRC allows them to further their careers and supervise and train the next generation of scientists," says René Durocher, executive director of the Canada Research Chair program.

"It's easy to find things that work. But to produce them on a large scale and market [them], it's a whole new thing, and it requires a lot more expertise that maybe in-house researchers just don't have," says Hélène Chaisson, Vice-President of Research and Development, Codena.

"The most important concept you have to remember is that technology doesn't mean you have a company." Says Roger Bernier, Vice-President of Foragen Technologies Management.

"These are pipeline programs; these are the programs that produce both human capital and technologies, and NASA basically disrupted the pipeline," says Lennard Fisk, a space science professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,and co-author of a National Research Council Report.

"You have to understand the economics of the industry you want to be in and work on projects that matter to corporations," says Stephen Murphy, director of R&D for the Hockey Company.

"I think it's very important when you're young, not to put limits on yourself," says [Celine] Ster.

"They're wide-eyed, bright researchers who want to make a difference, and all we have to do is supply them with the right resources, the right information, and the right process and they're just dying to go." says Richard Bruno, Director of the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at McGill University in Montreal.

"You can't turn the money on and just watch it regenerate itself," says Michael Pivovaroff.

"This is a lifelong dream come true for me. For the first time Canadian-built science will actually touch down on the Martian surface, and I am taking part." - Isabelle Tremblay, Phoenix mission systems engineer, Canadian Space Agency

Day-to-day environmental challenges compel Australians into fields of applied sciences," says Lamontagne.

"By creating interest and momentum through the next IPY, I can see a real resurgence in opportunities for young scientists across Canada," says David Hik, Executive Director, Canadian Secretariat, International Polar Year.

"We focus on real problems, and we tackle them from the very basic to the more macular levels," says June Chaikelson, dean of arts and science at Concordia University.

Dedication and patience are high on the list of skills required for any researcher, but when working internationally, Carrier believes, you have to go beyond the call of duty.