OTTAWA, Ont. (Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012) - In a move that will create even greater opportunities in environmental research, CANARIE, Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network, and the University of Waterloo today announced an extension of the ultra high-speed fibre optic network to the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment in Huntsville, Ontario.
The link will enable researchers and scientists at the university’s Department of Environment and Resource Studies to collaborate in real time with colleagues in Canada and worldwide, accelerating research in ecosystem resilience and adaptation and ecological monitoring. Research in these areas helps us understand the ways in which the natural world is changing, and uncovers opportunities for the development of so-called green businesses, including ecotourism.
“The CANARIE link not only supports data-intensive, digital research, but can also be leveraged to make the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment a locus for conferences and think tanks,” says Jim Roche, president and CEO of CANARIE. “CANARIE’s digital infrastructure is an important investment for communities across Canada, as it provides the foundation for knowledge-based economic development, in addition to world-class research and discovery.”
Surrounded by a rich natural environment, the centre is an ideal setting for environmental research, and the network extension provides the technology to share and further that research.
“This link represents another step in a long-term strategy for the centre. It allows us to communicate more effectively from the field with other researchers and communities around the world, which encourages collaboration and leads to economic and social innovation,” says D. George Dixon, vice-president, university research, University of Waterloo.
The Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment opened in 2011, and is the result of a partnership between the University of Waterloo and the Town of Huntsville. It features laboratory space, meeting rooms, and it also hosts conferences, training sessions and credit courses for Faculty of Environment students.
CANARIE operates Canada’s ultra-high speed network, thousands of times faster than the Internet, which enables world-class research and discovery at universities, colleges, research hospitals, government labs and private sector research facilities across the country. CANARIE also funds the development of software to enable wider access to research data and tools.
CANARIE receives funding from the Government of Canada in five-year mandates and is currently working towards renewal of its mandate in the 2012 budget. The mandate renewal section (www.canarie.ca/en/renewal) of the CANARIE website provides more detailed information on CANARIE’s renewal proposal, as well as information and tools for stakeholders wishing to send messages of support to government decision-makers involved in the renewal process.
About CANARIE
CANARIE Inc. is Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network. Established in 1993, CANARIE manages an ultra high-speed network that supports leading-edge research and big science across Canada and around the world. One million researchers, scientists and students at over 1,100 Canadian institutions, including universities, colleges, research institutes, hospitals, and government laboratories have access to the CANARIE Network. Together with 12 provincial and territorial advanced network partners, CANARIE enables researchers to share and analyze massive amounts of data, like climate models, satellite images, and DNA sequences that can lead to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. CANARIE is a non-profit corporation supported by membership fees, with the major investment in its programs and activities provided by the Government of Canada.
CANARIE keeps Canada at the forefront of digital research and innovation, fundamental to a vibrant digital economy. For additional information, please visit www.canarie.ca
