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

Dr. Blatz currently teaches at the University of Manitoba where he is Associate Head and Associate Professor with the Department of Civil Engineering. He is also Principal of Blatz Engineering, a consulting company.

Dr. Blatz is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of Manitoba, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and the Canadian Geotechnical Society. He was also an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at the GeoEngineering Centre at Queen's University - Royal Military College of Canada from 2000 to 2001.

NSERC is a federal agency whose role is to make investments in people, discovery and innovation for the benefit of all Canadians. The agency invests in people by supporting some 23 000 university students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 11 000 university professors every year, and it helps make innovation happen by encouraging about 1300 Canadian companies to invest in university research and training. Over the past 10 years, NSERC has invested $6 billion in basic research, university-industry projects and the training of Canada's next generation of scientists and engineers.