British Columbia Innovation Council

Dr. Nigel Livingston

Dr. Nigel Livingston is the Founding Director of the University of Victoria Assistive Technology Team (UVATT), a group of faculty, staff, students and community volunteers who develop devices for the disabled. To date, nearly 800 people have worked on projects. He is also a Biology Professor with tenure at the University of Victoria.

Dr. Livingston's passion, hard work and leadership at UVATT inspire team members to make a positive difference in the lives of those facing challenging circumstances. He founded UVATT after identifying a need for assistive technology while seeking treatment for his disabled daughter. Having seen first-hand the challenges faced by the 3.6 million Canadians with a disability, Dr. Livingston informally began UVATT with a single project. UVATT has since developed more than 25 new technologies including tricycles for visually impaired children, an EMG (electromyography) based communication and control system for those with neurological disorders and a noise metering system for use by hearing impaired children studying in integrated classrooms. Dr. Livingston has tirelessly promoted collaboration between researchers and healthcare providers to implement practical solutions. Notably, a collaboration with the BC ALS Society has led to the development of a brainwave communication system that enables patients to operate switches through brainwave control. It is anticipated that the system will be used to benefit ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) patients around the world.

Dr. Max Blouw

Dr. Max Blouw, Vice President of Research at the University of Northern British Columbia, has led an ambitious multi-year campaign to build science and technology capacity in northern and central BC. A champion of research, science and technology in northern BC and of small universities across Canada, Dr. Blouw's efforts have created a legacy that will influence technology development for decades to come.

It is Dr. Blouw who established UNBC's UILO office. Under his research leadership, UNBC's research budget has grown from $3.3 million in 1997 to $10.2 million in 2005. Significant research infrastructure, including the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry Lab and the Quesnel River Research Centre, has been created. In 2003, UNBC placed second in a research intensity ranking among undergraduate universities and number 20 overall, ahead of many comprehensive universities.

Dr. William Hunter

Dr. William Hunter is President and CEO of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a company he co-founded in 1992 and which now has a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion. A member of NASDAQ:ANPI and TSX:ANP, Angiotech is a world leader in the emerging field of drug-coated medical devices and biomaterials.

The company is pioneering the science of coating drugs on to medical devices and biomaterials to dramatically improve their performance and solve some of medicine's most vexing problems. Dr. Hunter is co-inventor of several of Angiotech's core programs including the paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent.

In the 1990's stenting became an alternative to angioplasty that greatly reduced the risks associated in restoring blood flow to clogged arteries. However, the basic metal stent fails in approximately 25 to 40 percent of cases. The TAXUS® Express²^TMpaclitaxel-eluting stent created in a collaborative effort between Angiotech and Boston Scientific Corporation significantly reduces the failure rate of a basic bare metal stent by more than 600%. The basic stent can cause the immune system to trigger the formation of scar tissue, which often results in restenosis or the reclogging of the artery. By combining the stent with paclitaxel, a drug that can block an important cellular pathway involved in inflammation, restenosis can be prevented.

Dr. Walter Hardy

Dr. Walter Hardy, a Physics Professor at the University of British Columbia, has demonstrated by example that Canadian scientists can conduct research and compete at the highest level. His outstanding career in scientific research has flourished for more than 45 years and he has influenced the careers of countless students.

Dr. Hardy's experimental genius and his focus on the key issues in laboratory-based physics have garnered tremendous international recognition for both UBC and British Columbia.

Dr. Hardy has consistently conceived of and created new experimental methods that push the theoretical limits of the materials and devices that he employs. In the case of atomic hydrogen, he invented, constructed and tested a novel recirculating hydrogen maser which at that time was the world's most stable frequency source. When Dr. Hardy built up the group that had the capability of making the world's best high Tc crystals, and focused his research efforts on microwave properties of high temperature superconductors, major results ensued. His discovery that superfluid density decreases linearly over a wide range of temperatures as the temperature increased was so completely out of line with previous measurements, it was initially met with international skepticism. However, the data were so clean and convincing they were impossible to ignore. His measurement turned the tide of opinion in the field of high temperature superconductivity. Dr. Hardy and his group at UBC have continued to conduct exceptional research and to observe fascinating phenomena in the highest quality of materials, which they make in their lab.

Dr. Penny Le Couteur

Dr. Penny Le Couteur, the current Dean of Arts and Sciences at Capilano College, has taught virtually every course within the department of Chemistry during her tenure. As a communicator, teacher, administrator and role model, Dr. Le Couteur has served as an inspiration to thousands of students who have benefited from her ability to explain and promote popular science throughout her 37-year career.

An author, guest speaker and presenter at countless events, Dr. Le Couteur inspires with her inherent ability to communicate her heart-felt love of science. Notably, Dr. Le Couteur recently co-authored Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History, a book that demonstrates her skill in presenting science in an accessible and entertaining manner.

The achievement brought her recognition as one of three finalists out of 143 entries in the book category for the U.S. National Academics Communication Award for Excellence in communicating science, engineering and medicine to the general public. With very little popular science books available on the subject of chemistry, Dr. Le Couteur's book has attracted international attention. It has been translated into Polish, published in Chinese and the rights have been sold in Korea, Italy and Brazil.

Dr. B. Mario Pinto

A Professor of Chemistry and Vice President of Research at Simon Fraser University, Dr. B. Mario Pinto is opening up new frontiers in the fields of chemical biology, medicinal chemistry and health research.

Well known for his contributions to the field of carbohydrate chemistry, Dr. Pinto is one of the few chemists in the world to pursue the art and science of synthesizing complex carbohydrate molecules. His research is unlocking the secrets of molecular functions, enabling scientists to model complex interactions.

Dr. Pinto's knowledge of molecular topographies is considered essential for designing the next generation of drug and vaccine candidates. An outcome of his approach is the definition of the requirements for a specific vaccine against Streptoccus A, the causative agent of "flesh-eating disease". Dr. Pinto's groundbreaking work in determining how one class of molecules can be mimicked by another also has significant potential for the design of new drug candidates or highly directed vaccines to avoid undesirable autoimmune reactions. Based on this concept of molecular mimicry, Dr. Pinto's current research is leading to the development of promising drug candidates for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, spreading cancers, SARS, HIV, and other viral infections, and for the control of cholesterol levels.

Dr. Jian Pei

An Assistant Professor of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University, Dr. Jian Pei is already one of the world's most cited authors in the area of data mining and knowledge discovery at the age of 35.

After graduating from SFU in 2002, Dr. Pei assumed a position at State University of New York prior to returning to B.C. His association with SUNY continues as he supervises graduate students and administers a US $250,000 National Sciences Foundation grant supporting his research.

Considered a rising and innovative star, Dr. Pei's areas of research in databases, specifically data mining and data warehousing have broad application in marketing, business data analysis and surveillance data processing and analysis. Fast, efficient and scalable, Dr. Pei's methods differ from other software tools for database analysis and management in that they are 10 to 100 times faster than other currently available alternatives. His methods for extracting knowledge from huge databases are being applied in shopping malls and research labs in many parts of the world. Notably, his work on FP-trees, an invention providing methods apparatus and data structures useful for mining databases for frequent items, has been used extensively by companies such as IBM, HP, Wal-Mart and Boeing.