Dr. S.C. (Chan) Wirasinghe 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 Dr. S.C. (Chan) Wirasinghe to the Council.

"With a solid background in engineering, Dr. Wirasinghe is well equipped to assist the Council in its continued support of university research in science and engineering," said Minister Prentice. "I welcome Dr. Wirasinghe to NSERC."

Since 1976, Dr. Wirasinghe has been a professor at the University of Calgary's Department of Civil Engineering, now the Schulich School of Engineering, of which he is founding Dean Emeritus. He is currently Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Advanced Transportation and is a member of the boards of several organizations. He was named Calgary's Citizen of the Year for 2005.

Dr. Wirasinghe has over 30 years of significant experience in transportation engineering and planning. His current research is in the areas of public transportation, air transportation, mitigating the effects of large natural disasters, and transportation in developing countries.

Dr. Wirasinghe holds a PhD and MSc in Civil Engineering (Transportation) from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BSc in Engineering (Civil Engineering) from the University of Ceylon.

NSERC is a federal agency whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators to the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 25 000 university students and post-doctoral 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 1400 Canadian companies to participate and invest in university research projects.

For further information (media only), please contact:

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

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502