Applications are up: Vo-Van

By Barbara Black

Vice-Provost Truong Vo-Van says that at 42 per cent, the success rate of applicants to the SSHRC Standard Research program is the highest obtained so far at Concordia. There were 91 applications, of which 38 were accepted for funding.

Regarding the newly launched SSHRC program of Research/Creation in Fine Arts, Concordia’s success of 29.4 per cent is exceptionally high compared to the national rate of 17 per cent. However, Vo-Van said he hopes SSHRC will look closely at this new program and reinforce it so that the success rate is improved to a more acceptable level.

Inventions proliferate

Vice-Provost Vo-Van also notes that there has been a substantial increase in potentially marketable inventions at the university.

Gestion Valeo is a not-for-profit consortium that was set up two years ago to represent Concordia, UQAM, the École de Technologie Supérieure and the Université du Québec à Rimouski.

Two years ago, three inventions were submitted by Concordia to Valeo for development, and last year there were six. This year, they more than doubled to 14.

For example, Raymond Le Van Mao, of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has developed technology on selective deep catalytic cracking, or SDCC. This is a chemical process that uses catalysts to break apart raw petroleum, generating chemicals that form the basis of the many synthetic goods we use every day.

Valeo is evaluating his research for its technological and commercial value, and mechanisms will be put in place to patent the SDCC process.

Another example comes from Professor Chunyan Wang, of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. She has has patents for five inventions related to integrated circuits. They combine extremely low power with high sensitivity, and may have potential in the field of diagnostic medicine.

Not every invention attracts the interest of a company, and not every one of those actually reaches the marketplace and makes money. However, it is true to say that the word industry has expanded in this context. The Industry and Partnership unit of Concordia’s Office of Research says that the term “no longer refers to heavy industry, but now encompasses all areas of business, whether it be engineering, banking, tourism or health care.”