UW welcomes Arthur J. Carty as head of Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology

WATERLOO - Canada's last national science advisor is returning to the University of Waterloo to lead a new research initiative that will place UW among the world's best centres for nanotechnology. Arthur J. Carty will serve as the first executive director of the new Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology.

Carty will provide both scientific and managerial leadership to the fledgling institute. Priorities will include establishing a vision and research directions, identifying funding opportunities, setting priorities for the hiring of faculty and endowed chairs, developing cross-disciplinary linkages internally and with external partners, and overseeing construction of nanotechnology space within a $120-million quantum-nano centre.

"The University is pleased that Dr. Arthur Carty will return to oversee the scientific and managerial aspects of this important new research initiative," said David Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo. "Our aspirations for the institute are great and we were determined to find the right individual with a unique set of credentials. Dr. Carty is certainly that individual."

Carty will begin an initial two-year term on May 1. He will spend 90 percent of his time in those first two years on nanotechnology, reporting to the deans of engineering and science who oversee the institute. He will also spend a portion of his time as a special advisor to the president on international science and technology policy and will be a research professor in the department of chemistry.

"After 14 years in government, I am looking forward to returning to Waterloo to meet a new challenge - that of building a unique world-class institute dedicated to the emerging field of nanotechnology," said Carty. "Waterloo is one of the most dynamic communities in Canada and with this initiative, the University will be well positioned to serve as the wellspring of innovation in this multidisciplinary enabling technology which will impact profoundly across all areas of society and industry in the years ahead."

Carty has held senior science positions across Canada. He was national science advisor to the government and prime minister of Canada from April 2004 until last month. Prior to that he spent a decade as president of the National Research Council of Canada.

He is also a former president of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, honorary fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and the Fields Institute for Research in the Mathematical Sciences, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has more than 300 peer reviewed publications and five patents to his credit.

He has a doctorate in chemistry from Nottingham University and spent two years at Memorial University. Over 27 years at UW, as a professor of chemistry, Carty served as the first director of the Guelph-Waterloo Centre for Graduate Work in Chemistry, chair of the chemistry department and dean of research. The university's Arthur J. Carty Lecture Series, endowed by UW colleague Frank Karasek, involves an annual lecture on science or science policy of broad general interest.

Among his many awards are the Alcan Award and the Montreal Medal of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the E.W.R. Steacie Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Purvis Award of the Society of Chemical Industry, the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal and the National Science Council of Taiwan Professional Medal. He has received 12 honorary degrees from Canadian and foreign universities, and is both an Officer of the Order of Canada and Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite of France.

Carty returns to head nano institute

Carty (above), who was a long-time chemistry professor at UW and dean of research 1989-1994, will provide both scientific and managerial leadership to the fledgling institute, said a UW news release. Priorities will include establishing a vision and research directions, identifying funding opportunities, setting priorities for the hiring of faculty and endowed chairs, developing cross-disciplinary linkages internally and with external partners, and overseeing construction of nanotechnology space within a $120 million quantum-nano centre that’s scheduled for construction north of the Biology buildings.

"The university is pleased that Dr. Arthur Carty will return to oversee the scientific and managerial aspects of this important new research initiative," says David Johnston, UW’s president. "Our aspirations for the institute are great and we were determined to find the right individual with a unique set of credentials. Dr. Carty is certainly that individual."

Carty will begin an initial two-year term on May 1. He will spend 90 per cent of his time in those first two years on nanotechnology, reporting to the deans of engineering and science, who oversee the institute. He will also spend a portion of his time as a special advisor to the president on international science and technology policy and will be a research professor in the department of chemistry.

"After 14 years in government, I am looking forward to returning to Waterloo to meet a new challenge — that of building a unique world-class institute dedicated to the emerging field of nanotechnology," says Carty in the news release. "Waterloo is one of the most dynamic communities in Canada, and with this initiative, the university will be well positioned to serve as the wellspring of innovation in this multidisciplinary enabling technology, which will impact profoundly across all areas of society and industry in the years ahead."

Carty has held senior science positions across Canada. He was national science advisor to the government and prime minister of Canada from April 2004 until last month. Before that he spent a decade as president of the National Research Council of Canada.

He is also a former president of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, honorary fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and the Fields Institute for Research in the Mathematical Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, as well as an Officer of the Order of Canada and Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite of France. He has more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and five patents to his credit.

He has a doctorate in chemistry from Nottingham University and spent two years at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Over 27 years at UW, as a professor of chemistry, Carty served as the first director of the Guelph-Waterloo Centre for Graduate Work in Chemistry, chair of the chemistry department and dean of research. The university's Arthur J. Carty Lecture Series, endowed by UW colleague Frank Karasek, involves an annual lecture on science or science policy of broad general interest.