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Book Launch
New book, unveiled this week, outlines how Canada can meet productivity challenge
WATERLOO - A longtime champion of innovative university research, Tom Brzustowski, will launch his new book on boosting productivity in Canada next week at the Accelerator Centre (AC), located in the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park.
The former president of the federal granting agency, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), will speak about his book, entitled The Way Ahead: Meeting Canada's Productivity Challenge, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, starting at 5:30 p.m. in the AC's Val O'Donovan networking area. He will also sign copies.
"Tom is one of our own. He has had an outstanding academic and public service career, beginning here at the University of Waterloo," says UW president David Johnston, adding that Brzustowski then served an Ontario deputy minister before heading NSERC for 10 years. "We look forward to helping him celebrate this wonderful event."
Brzustowski, chair of the board of directors for UW's Institute for Quantum Computing, also holds the RBC Chair in the Commercialization of Innovation at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. His book was published by the University of Ottawa Press.
As NSERC president, Brzustowski has long called for strengthening links among universities, industry and government to commercialize research while dealing with issues of funding and conflict of interest. He argues that as Canada relies on university research, rather than work done in company labs, the country must become more adept at commercializing innovative campus discoveries.
In his book, Brzustowski says that while Canada is a prosperous country, this prosperity is being stressed by demographics, pressures on the public purse and low productivity growth. To maintain a high quality of life, prosperity must increase while remaining sustainable. It's a challenge Canada is prepared to and must face, he argues.
Brzustowski proposes raising productivity growth by embracing an economy based on innovation, prioritizing research and development, marketing Canadian products internationally and encouraging entrepreneurial activities in all sectors.
As well, increasing prosperity will require a new level of understanding, strategic coherence and mutual support between the private and public sectors in Canada.
The book, drawing on a wide knowledge of government, industry and academia, articulates a strategy for moving the economy toward higher-value products based on research and development. It describes the practical steps government, industry and academia must take to improve things in the short term and prepare strategically for the long term.
Brzustowski's accomplished career as an engineer, researcher, professor and public servant spans more than 40 years. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2006, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
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