Bios – Presenters & Panelists oneNS Coalition

Bios – Presenters & Panelists oneNS Coalition Meeting May 19, 2015 –
Getting More out of Our Universities and Colleges
Dr. Eric Grimson, Chancellor for Academic Advancement, MIT
Eric Grimson is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
and holds the Bernard Gordon Chair of Medical Engineering at MIT. He also holds a joint appointment as a
Lecturer on Radiology at Harvard Medical School and at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Between 2011 and
2014 he served as the Chancellor for MIT, having previously served as the Head of the Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. He currently serves as Chancellor for Academic Advancement for
MIT. He received a B.Sc. (High Honors) in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Regina in 1975
and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from MIT in 1980. Prof. Grimson's research group pioneered state of the art
systems for activity and behavior recognition, object and person recognition, image database indexing, image
guided surgery, site modeling and many other areas of computer vision. Prof. Grimson is a Fellow of the
American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), a Fellow of the IEEE, and was awarded the Bose
Award for Excellence in Teaching in the School of Engineering at MIT.
Dr. Peter Nicholson, 2006 Founding President of the Council of Canadian Academies
Peter Nicholson became the inaugural president of the Council of Canadian Academies in February, 2006 and
retired from that position on January 1, 2010. (The Council supports expert panels that assess the science that is
relevant to issues of public importance.) Educated in physics (BSc, MSc, Dalhousie) and operations research
(PhD, Stanford), Dr. Nicholson has served in numerous posts in government, business, science, and higher
education. His public service career included positions as head of policy in the Office of the Prime Minister of
Canada; as a member of the Nova Scotia Legislature; as Clifford Clark Visiting Economist in Finance Canada;
and as Special Advisor to the Secretary-general of the OECD in Paris. Dr. Nicholson's business career has
included senior executive positions with Scotiabank in Toronto and BCE Inc. in Montreal. Dr. Nicholson began
his career in the academic sector where he taught computer science at the University of Minnesota (1969-73).
He was also an original member of the Canadian Prime Minister's National Advisory Board on Science and
Technology, the founding Chair of the Board of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences and
was the founding Chair of the Members of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Dr. Nicholson is a Member
of the Order of Canada.
Bios – Presenters & Panelists oneNS Coalition Meeting May 19, 2015 –
Getting More out of Our Universities and Colleges
Dr. Wayne St. Amour, ED, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, NSCC
Dr. Wayne St-Amour is Director, NSCC Applied Research. He leads applied research programs, scientists and
the Applied Research Office. Wayne joined NSCC in 2011 having led and managed successful research
programs in Nova Scotia’s offshore, in the energy sector in Canada and internationally. Wayne received his
PhD from Lancaster University in the UK and his research focus is the social psychology of learning in high
reliability organizations, like nuclear power plants. At NSCC, he is currently developing collaborative
initiatives to create a culture of research as a form of teaching and learning at NSCC for students, faculty, and
industry partners. Wayne is based at NSCC’s Middleton and Central Campuses.
Dr. Richard Isnor, AVP Research, St.F.X.
Richard Isnor is the new Associate Vice President, Research & Graduate Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Prior to joining StFX, he was Manager of the Atlantic Regional Office for the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), based in Moncton, NB. Previously, he was Director of
Innovation Policy and Science at the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa and also worked for
three years with the National Research Council of Canada managing Biotechnology Research Initiatives and the
NRC Genomics and Health Initiative. Richard holds a D. Phil . in Science and Technology Policy Studies from
the University of Sussex, UK;a Master’s in Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University ; and a B.
Sc.(Hons) in Biochemistry from Mount Allison University.His primary interest is in science policy and the
public administration of research; he has worked in science and technology policy or research administrative
positions for Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Privy Council Office, as well as the Nunavut
Research Institute.