DiCOS Technologies grants $50,000 in scholarships to support CIPI research

Québec, December 12, 2002 - Four scholarships each worth $12,500 were awarded to M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in electrical engineering at Université Laval. The scholarships made possible by a contribution from DiCOS Technologies were presented by the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Michel Têtu, with the participation of the president of the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations, Dr. Elmer Hara.

“By setting up this scholarship program totaling $100,000 over two years, DiCOS Technologies is acknowledging Université Laval’s important contribution in our company’s creation while at the same time actively supporting the research activities that are part of CIPI’s scientific program,” stated Dr. Têtu.

From left to right, Michel Têtu, Jean-Noël Maran, Martin Allard, Thierry Ahoyo, Walid Mathlouthi and Elmer Hara.

Launched in October 2000, DiCOS, a company located in Quebec City, is the result of over fifteen years of research performed at Université Laval by Dr. Têtu and his team of electrical engineers. In recent years, a large part of that work was accomplished as part of the scientific program of the CIPI network of centres of excellence, which Dr. Têtu helped to establish. “CIPI is proud to partner with DiCOS in this scholarship program,” mentioned Dr. Elmer Hara. “The network would have never been set up at Laval had it not been for Michel Têtu’s dedication and determination.” Three of the four DiCOS scholarship recipients are deeply involved in CIPI-sponsored projects, one goal of which is to contribute to the training of highly qualified personnel in order to meet the increasing demands of the Canadian photonics industry.

DiCOS manufactures optoelectronic products for the calibration of test and measurement instruments and optical communication components. Seed money for the company’s start-up was provided by Innovatech Québec and SOVAR, an organization jointly established by Université Laval and the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) to exploit the technology developed in the latter two institutions. In fact, DiCOS was the first spin-off company launched by SOVAR whose mission is to stimulate the marketing and further development of products and technologies resulting from research conducted at Université Laval, the CHUQ and affiliated research centres.

Scholarship recipients are Ph.D. students Martin Allard and Jean-Noël Maran, and M.Sc. students Thierry Ahoyo and Walid Mathlouthi.

The Network of Centres of Excellence Program is an initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Industry Canada.