UNBC's first vice president of research will be the new namesake of the Quesnel River Research Centre that's being re-named to honour the man who played a vital role in its founding.

The Dr. Max Blouw Quesnel River Research Centre at Likely was unveiled Monday with Blouw in attendance. “It’s a great honour for me,” said Blouw, who is the president of Wilfrid Laurier University.

“To be honest, my initial reaction was delight, but also shock. The community of Likely was really the main driver in retaining the facility as a research site."
Blouw was well known for connecting the needs of communities, industry and government to research and development.

He worked with the community of Likely and others in the region to have the former federal fisheries research station transferred to UNBC. The facility now supports research on fish ecology, the sustainability of river systems, and climate change.
“We want to recognize the many efforts of Max Blouw,” said site manager Rick Holmes, a resident of Likely for the past 35 years. “From his work in fish ecology and sustainability, to helping the community to secure this centre, it is a well deserved honour we gladly bestow.”

The research centre, occupying 21.5 hectares on the Quesnel River downstream from Quesnel Lake, offers field study to university students, summer field schools, as well as extension services and seminar and workshop facilities for non-university user groups.
It is a setting for collaboration involving researchers from UNBC and other universities, government agencies, other research centers, and industry.

Blouw was at UNBC since it opened in 1994 to June, 2007. He led the research department for 10 years, during which time the value of annual research funding at UNBC jumped from $3 million annually to upwards of $18 million.

Read Dr. Max Blouw Making a Difference Feature in Exchange Magazine