New Chair at University of Ottawa Will Look at Risks to Health From New Technology

December 14, 2001 - Tom Brzustowski, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Dominique Lacasse, Director of Public Affairs with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), today launched, on behalf of Industry Minister Brian Tobin, a new joint research chair at the University of Ottawa.

The NSERC/SSHRC Chair in The Management of Technological Change: Population Health Risk Assessment will be headed by Dr. Dan Krewski, an internationally renowned expert in risk assessment. The federal contribution is $1,500,000 to be paid over the next five years. The NSERC funding is $1,000,000 with SSHRC providing $500,000.

Dr. Krewski's team will study critical risk factors such as air quality, radioactivity, and consumer product safety. Ways to reduce or eliminate these problems will be explored. Dr. Krewski's program envisages extensive interaction with other academic centres, as well as the private and public sectors.

The federal government will contribute half of the total direct research costs with an equivalent amount to be provided by a consortium of ten industrial sponsors from the chemical products, wireless telecommunications, petroleum and steel industries.

"Dan Krewski is one of the founders of the modern discipline of environmental and health risk assessment and he is recognized internationally for his outstanding work in this field," said NSERC president Tom Brzustowski. "This new chair provides a valuable impetus for Canadian research in this field and I congratulate the industrial partners for participating in a project that will generate new knowledge that is so important for all Canadians."

The chair will be based at the R. Samuel McLaughlin Centre, Canada's only centre for Population Health Risk Assessment. The facility that opened today at the University of Ottawa is also benefitting from a $10 million private sector contribution from the R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation.

"This Chair promotes the timely development of risk science, a field that, at present, is underdeveloped in Canada. This multidisciplinary collaboration is another wonderful example of the way social scientists and humanists work to address issues of concern to Canadians," said Dr. Marc Renaud, President of SSHRC. "I applaud Dr. Krewski's ongoing commitment to Canada's next generation of researchers who will have the chance to learn from the best and brightest minds brought together under this ambitious project."

NSERC is the primary federal agency investing in people, discovery and innovation. The Council supports both basic university research through research grants, and project research through partnerships among universities, governments and the private sector, as well as the advanced training of highly qualified people.

SSHRC is an independent federal government agency that funds university-based research and graduate training in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC also forms intellectual and financial partnerships with public and private sector organizations to focus research and aid the development of better policies and practices in key areas of Canada's social, cultural and economic life. SSHRC-funded research helps Canadians innovate and compete, maintain their quality of life and understand a rapidly changing world.

For more information, contact:

Francis Lionnet, NSERC, at (613) 992-9001; fzl@nserc.ca
Doré Dunne, SSHRC, at (613) 992-7302; dore.dunne@sshrc.ca
Dr. Daniel Krewski at (613) 562-5379; dkrewski@uottawa.ca