[news 2007-2008]

PARTEQ’s Executive in Residence to serve as Ontario Centres of Excellence representative on campus

Dual role will enhance researcher-OCE relationships and opportunities

For immediate release

Dec. 10, 2007

KINGSTON, ON – PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen’s University, is pleased to announce that Randall North, Executive in Residence, has been appointed Business Development Manager for the Ontario Centres of Excellence.

As OCE’s representative for researchers at Queen’s and the Royal Military College of Canada, Mr. North will be primarily responsible for finding and helping to grow innovative technology opportunities for the Centre for Communications and Information Technology, one OCE’s five Centres of Excellence.

He will also act as a liaison between Eastern Ontario industry, researchers and OCE’s business development managers in four additional innovation sectors: Earth and Environmental Technologies, Energy, Materials and Manufacturing, and Photonics.
Working together, OCE and PARTEQ offer resources such as expertise, funding and industry contacts to help commercialize promising technologies generated by research.

“We are delighted to see this expansion of Mr. North’s role to bring the resources and expertise of both PARTEQ and the Ontario Centres of Excellence to the innovation community,” says Anne Vivian-Scott, Vice-President of Commercial Development at PARTEQ. “His previous industry experience, combined with his success in cementing the PARTEQ-OCE alliance last year, make him the best person to achieve these objectives.”

“OCE is very excited to have Randy as part of the CCIT team. His broad industry expertise in the ICT sector as well as his knowledge in technology transfer and early stage commercialization makes him a great fit for the team,” says Ron Killeen, Managing Director of OCE’s Centre of Excellence for Communications and Information Technology.

Mr. North is a professional engineer with three decades of experience in engineering, product development and marketing of advanced technologies, including compound semiconductors, optical components, and software products. He is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick (BSc Eng) and Carleton University (M Eng).

“I see myself as a facilitator,” Mr. North says. “Researchers and industry involved with all of OCE’s targeted sectors can use me as their point of first contact. At the same time, I can be OCE’s eyes and ears on the ground in Kingston, helping to connect their sector-specific expertise with industry needs and promising technologies being developed by researchers at Queen’s and RMC.”

Mr. North will be building on the work of Bryan Kanarens, currently acting director of OCE’s Investment Accelerator Fund.

The Ontario Centres of Excellence and PARTEQ work together to find, fund and commercialize promising early stage technologies arising out of research across the Kingston region.

Contact:
Anne Vivian-Scott
Vice-President, Commercial Development
PARTEQ Innovations
P: 613. 533. 2342
E: avivianscott@parteqinnovations.com

About Ontario Centres of Excellence:
OCE Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation that delivers the Ontario Centres of Excellence program made possible through the financial support of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. OCE Inc. supports the commercialization of industry and academic collaborations and the development and deployment of the next generation of talent in specific technologies across a range of market sectors including communications and information technology, earth and environmental technologies, energy, materials and manufacturing and photonics. For more information, please visit our web site at www.oce-ontario.org.

About PARTEQ Innovations:
PARTEQ Innovations is the not-for-profit technology transfer arm of Queen’s University. PARTEQ works with Queen’s researchers and the business and venture capital communities to bring early stage technologies to market. Since 1987 PARTEQ has been instrumental in the establishment of nearly 40 companies developing a variety of products, from potential drugs for Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease to automated bacteria detection for water systems, solar-powered appliances, and advanced materials used in the plastics, automotive, aerospace and household appliance industries. While primarily focused on discoveries generated by Queen’s University, PARTEQ also offers its services to the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston General Hospital, and the University of Toronto.
www.parteqinnovations.com