Charles Richard Bridges Appointed to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

OTTAWA, June 26, 2008 — The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), today announced the appointment of Mr. Charles Richard Bridges as a member of the Council.

"Mr. Bridges brings a wealth of experience from both the private sector and academia and will prove to be of tremendous value to the Council," said Minister Prentice. "I welcome Mr. Bridges to NSERC."

Mr. Bridges currently serves as Vice-President (Assoc.), External Affairs at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr. Bridges also teaches business and human resource management as a lecturer with the Department of Management at the Sobey School of Business. Mr. Bridges was recently named Vice Chair, 2011 Canada Winter Games to be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In the past, Mr. Bridges was very active in radio and news broadcasting, and also has a diverse range of non-governmental organization, volunteer and university committee experience. Mr. Bridges holds a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary's University.

NSERC is a federal agency whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 25,000 university students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 11,000 university professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,400 Canadian companies to participate and invest in university research projects.

For more information (media only), please contact:

Deirdra McCracken
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jim Prentice
Minister of Industry
Telephone: 613-995-9001

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502