On October 29, 2007, in Ottawa, Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), honoured seven partnerships involving some of Canada’s leading companies and university researchers with the NSERC Synergy Awards for Innovation. Among the winners was the partnership between TRIUMF and D-Pace, Inc. for the development of products and services for cyclotrons and other particle accelerators. The technologies created by the partnership between D-Pace and TRIUMF have influenced a diverse range of commercial sectors. These include advanced machinery, semiconductor production, medical imaging, and radioistope production.
D-Pace was co-founded by Morgan Dehnel in 1995 after he completed his doctoral studies at TRIUMF. The company started as a specialized contract engineering design firm catering to research facilities and private companies in the accelerator industry. Dr. Dehnel says that his company “owes its existence and almost all of its knowledge base to TRIUMF. This includes Ph.D training, intellectual technology transfer in accelerator-related physics and engineering, technology license agreements, and business advice related to the licensed technology items. TRIUMF and D-Pace work together in a truly team effort.”
Jean-Michel Poutissou, Associate Director of TRIUMF, accepted the award with Dr. Dehnel (see banner photo above). “The D-Pace/TRIUMF partnership,” said Dr. Poutissou, “is a good example of how fundamental research investments can be used to bolster the Canadian economy in the high-tech sector.”
The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, noted in a press release from his ministry that “these award-winning partnerships highlight how Canada’s investment in science and technology research pays dividends in terms of commercial success, an improved environment, and better quality of life.”