Bacon and Eggheads

This flagship series brings together Parliamentarians with experts across science and engineering, showcasing outstanding Canadian research accomplishments. Its purpose is to provide unbiased insight into topical scientific issues, within a non-partisan forum in which lobbying is not permitted. This prestigious forum represents a unique opportunity for scientists to communicate important findings to a distinguished and influential audience, which includes key decision-makers.

The series is organized by PAGSE, an umbrella group of 25 + science and engineering organizations operating under the auspices of the Royal Society, and is cosponsored by NSERC. Breakfasts are held once-monthly in Room 200 of the West Block while Parliament is in session.

The automotive industry is Canada’s largest single business sector, providing high-value employment to over 500,000 people across the country, including over 150,000 direct jobs mainly in Ontario and Quebec. While this $110 billion sector is Canada’s largest exporter, it now faces significant competitive pressures from abroad and must innovate to improve productivity.

These innovations will change the cars that we will buy in future years – but what will change and how will it affect our families’ driving habits?

Dr. Peter Frise is Scientific Director and CEO of the AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE), and a highly acclaimed expert in automotive research and in moving new knowledge to the market. He will describe the major trends in automotive innovation in safety, materials and manufacturing, powertrains and intelligent systems. He will talk about the value of this new research knowledge, as well as about the people involved in creating it and how they have become critical assets to productivity in the industry and to Canada’s manufacturing sector at large.

Dr. Frise created Canada’s first university-level program in Automotive Engineering in 1998, at the University of Windsor, where today he is Professor of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering and Executive Director of Automotive Research and Studies. AUTO21, the federal NCE he heads, is one of Canada’s largest research networks, bringing together more than 230 researchers from 40 institutions, working with nearly 500 graduate students in partnership with over 140 industry and public sector companies and organizations. Dr. Frise was recently appointed as a member of the National Research Council of Canada.

Organized by: The Partnership Group for Science and Engineering (PAGSE)

Sponsored by:

--the Speaker of the Senate
--the Speaker of the House of Commons
--Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Date: Thursday, March 1, 2007 from 7:30 am - 9:00 am
Place: Room 200, West Block, Parliament Hill
Cost: No charge to Members of the House of Commons, Senators and Media. All others $10
Registration: Please register by contacting Donna Boag, PAGSE Coordinator: 613-991-6369, pagse@rsc.ca
Registration Deadline: February 26th