All Topics  
National Research Council of Canada

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

National Research Council of Canada
 
 
  Topics National Research Council of Canada Topic Home

The National Research Council (NRC) is Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
's leading organization for scientific research and development.

History
The NRC was established in 1916 under the pressure of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. In 1932, laboratories were built on Sussex Drive in Ottawa
Ottawa

Ottawa is the Capital of Canada. The city has population of 812,000, the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population municipality in the country and second largest in Ontario....
.

With the impetus of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the NRC grew rapidly and for all practical purposes became a military science and weapons research organization.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'National Research Council of Canada'
Start a new discussion about 'National Research Council of Canada'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The National Research Council (NRC) is Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
's leading organization for scientific research and development.

History


The NRC was established in 1916 under the pressure of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. In 1932, laboratories were built on Sussex Drive in Ottawa
Ottawa

Ottawa is the Capital of Canada. The city has population of 812,000, the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population municipality in the country and second largest in Ontario....
.

With the impetus of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the NRC grew rapidly and for all practical purposes became a military science and weapons research organization. It undertook a number of important projects, which included participation with the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 in the development of chemical and germ warfare agents, the explosive RDX, the proximity fuse, radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, and submarine detection techniques. A special branch know as the Examination Unit was involved with cryptology and the interception of enemy radio communications. The NRC was also engaged in atomic fission research at the Montreal Laboratory
Tube Alloys

Tube Alloys was the code-name for the British nuclear weapon directorate during World War II, when the very possibility of nuclear weapons was kept at such a high level of secrecy that it had to be referred to by code even in the highest circles of government....
, then the Chalk River Laboratories
Chalk River Laboratories

The Chalk River Laboratories is a Canada nuclear reaction research facility located near Chalk River, Ontario, about 180 km North-West of Ottawa....
  Ontario.

Post-WWII, the NRC reverted to its pre-war civilian role and a number of wartime activities were spun off to newly formed organizations. Military research continued under a new organization, the Defence Research Board
Defence Research and Development Canada

Defence Research and Development Canada, also Defence R&D Canada or DRDC , is an Government agency of the Department of National Defence , whose purpose is to respond to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces ....
. Atomic research went to the newly created Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canada federal Crown corporation with the responsibility of managing Canada's national nuclear power research and development program, including the advancement and support of CANDU reactor technology which was developed at AECL starting in the 1950s....
. Foreign signal intelligence gathering was passed on to the newly created Communications Research Establishment
Communications Security Establishment

The Communications Security Establishment Canada is the Canada Government of Canada's national Cryptology Intelligence agency. Administered under the Department of National Defence , it is charged with the duty of keeping track of foreign SIGINT , and protecting Canadian government electronic information and communication networks....
. During the 1950s, the medical research funding activities of the NRC were handed over to the newly formed Medical Research Council of Canada
Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada....
. Finally, on May 1, 1978, with the rapid post-war growth of Canadian universities the NRC's role in university research funding in the natural sciences was passed to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Under financial pressure in the 1980s, the federal government produced what popularly became known as the Neilson Report, which recommended across-the-board financial cuts to all federal government organizations, including the NRC. This led to staff and program cutbacks. Recovery was slow, but the NRC has managed to regain its status as Canada's single most important scientific and engineering research institution among many other Canadian government scientific research organizations
Canadian government scientific research organizations

Expenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006....
.

Today, much of the NRC's focus is on developing partnerships with private and public-sector technology companies, both nationally and internationally. The Council will be celebrating its centenary in 2016.

Product innovations

Some of the many innovations by NRC personnel included the artificial pacemaker
Artificial pacemaker

A pacemaker is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart....
, development of canola (rapeseed)
Canola

Canola is one of two cultivars of rapeseed or Field mustard . Their seeds are used to produce edible oil that is fit for human consumption because it has lower levels of erucic acid than traditional rapeseed oils and to produce livestock feed because it has reduced levels of the toxin glucosin....
 in the 1940s, the Crash Position Indicator in the 1950s, and the Cesium Beam atomic clock
Atomic clock

An atomic clock is a type of clock that uses an atomic resonance frequency standard as its timekeeping element. They are the most accurate time and frequency standards known, and are used as primary standards for international Time dissemination, and to control the frequency of television broadcasts and GPS satellite signals....
 in the 1960s. More recently, the NRC has been highly influential in the field of audio. A great deal of research at the NRC has gone into the designs of many popular speakers from Canadian speaker manufacturers like Energy Loudspeakers and Paradigm Electronics
Paradigm Electronics

HistoryParadigm is a Canada company specializing in the production of in-wall, on-wall and freestanding loudspeakers as well as subwoofers....
. Some of their research has also influenced speaker designs around the world.

Agencies with special relationships with the NRC

Specialized agencies and services which have branched out of the NRC include:
  • Canadian Space Agency
    Canadian Space Agency

    The Canadian Space Agency is the Canadian government space agency responsible for Canada's outer space program. It was established in March 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act and sanctioned in December 1990....
  • Defence Research Board
    Defence Research and Development Canada

    Defence Research and Development Canada, also Defence R&D Canada or DRDC , is an Government agency of the Department of National Defence , whose purpose is to respond to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces ....
  • Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
    Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

    Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canada federal Crown corporation with the responsibility of managing Canada's national nuclear power research and development program, including the advancement and support of CANDU reactor technology which was developed at AECL starting in the 1950s....
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
    Canadian Institutes of Health Research

    Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada....
  • Communications Security Establishment
    Communications Security Establishment

    The Communications Security Establishment Canada is the Canada Government of Canada's national Cryptology Intelligence agency. Administered under the Department of National Defence , it is charged with the duty of keeping track of foreign SIGINT , and protecting Canadian government electronic information and communication networks....
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council


Planning and reporting

The NRC reports yearly within the Treasury Board Secretariat's Results-Based Management Framework. The NRC is currently guided by a strategic plan for 2006-2011: Science at Work for Canada .

Employment

Close to 4,000 people across Canada are employed by the NRC. In addition, the Council also employs guest workers from universities, companies, and public and private-sector organizations.

Governance


Cndnrc Sign Ottawa
The NRC is managed by a governing council. Current members of the council are: Patricia Béretta, Louis Brunel, Pierre Coulombe (President and Chairman), Delwyn Fredlund, Wayne Gulliver, James Hatton, Joseph Hubert, Pascale Michaud, Gilles Patry, Alan Pelman, Louise Proulx, René Racine, Salma Rajwani, Inge Russell, Katherine Schultz, Barbara Stanley, Howard Tennant, Jean-Claude Villiard, and Louis Visentin.

Cold War

According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is the primary intelligence agency of the Canadian government. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing and reporting Intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert operation and overt, within Canada and abroad....
 website, the NRC headquarters in Ottawa "was a prime espionage target" during the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
.

Institutes


Scientific Research

  • Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
    Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics

    The NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics is the leading Canadian centre for astronomy and astrophysics.Named for the Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg, it was formed in 1975 as part of the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario....
     (NRC-HIA)     - Penticton and Victoria, BC
  • Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (NRC-SIMS) - Ottawa and Chalk River, ON
  • Canadian Neutron Beam Centre
    Canadian Neutron Beam Centre

    The National Research Council of Canada Canadian Neutron Beam Centre is Canada's national centre for materials research using neutrons, and is one of the Chalk River Laboratories....
     (NRC-SIMS)     - Chalk River, ON
  • National Institute for Nanotechnology
    National Institute for Nanotechnology

    The National Institute for Nanotechnology is a Government of Canada research institution located on the University of Alberta main campus, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada....
     (NINT)     - Edmonton, AB
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NRC-NMR) - Ottawa, ON
  • Institute for Biological Sciences (NRC-IBS) - Ottawa, ON
  • Biotechnology Research Institute (NRC-BRI) - Montreal, QC
  • Institute for Biodiagnostics
    Institute for Biodiagnostics

    The National Research Council Institute for Biodiagnostics is a research laboratory located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was established in 1992 to develop noninvasive medical devices and techniques to increase prospects for prevention, earlier diagnosis, improved treatment and prognosis of diseases....
     (NRC-IBD)     - Winnipeg, MB; Calgary, AB; Halifax, NS
  • Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI) - Saskatoon, SK
  • Institute for Marine Biosciences (NRC-IMB) - Halifax, NS
  • Genomics and Health Initiative (NRC-GHI)
  • Institute for Nutrisciences and Health (NRC-INH) - Charlottetown, PEI

Engineering Research

  • Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR) - Ottawa, ON; Montreal, QC
  • Centre for Surface Transportation Technology
    Centre for Surface Transportation Technology

    The Centre for Surface Transportation Technology is a self supporting, non-subsidized institute within the National Research Council . CSTT provides development and testing of rail and road transportation for government agencies, defence and a wide range of vehicle and equipment manufacturers within Canada and abroad....
     (NRC-CSTT)     - Ottawa, ON; Vancouver, BC
  • Canadian Hydraulics Centre (NRC-CHC) - Ottawa, ON
  • Institute for Ocean Technology (NRC-IOT) - St. John's, NL
  • Institute for Microstructural Sciences (NRC-IMS) - Ottawa, ON
  • Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI) - Boucherville, QC; London, ON; Saguenay (Chicoutimi), QC
  • Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology (NRC-ICPET) - Ottawa, ON
  • Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI) - Vancouver, BC
  • Institute for Information Technology (NRC-IIT) - Ottawa, ON; Gatineau, QC; Fredericton and Moncton, NB
  • Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) - Ottawa, ON; London, ON; Regina, SK (Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure Research)
  • Imaging Network (Ottawa-based)


Support Institutes

  • Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (NRC-CISTI), Canada's National Science Library - Ottawa, ON
(CISTI includes NRC Research Press
NRC Research Press

NRC Research Press is Canada's largest scientific publisher and provides open access to most of its journals for all Canadians, thanks to support from the Depository Services Program....
)
  • Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) - Ottawa, ON; and across Canada
  • Institute for National Measurement Standards (NRC-INMS) - Ottawa, ON


NRC Aerospace Fleet


The NRC has a fleet of aircraft for their research purposes:
  • Bell 412
    Bell 412

    The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a further development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor....
     Advanced Systems Research Aircraft
  • Bell 205 airborne simulator
  • Convair 580 - for atmospheric testing
  • Falcon 20 - aerospace and geoscience testing
  • Twin Otter - atmospheric and biospheric studies, and for flight mechanics and flight systems development
  • Harvard Mark IV
    Harvard Mark IV

    The Harvard Mark IV was an electronic stored-program computer built by Harvard University under the supervision of Howard Aiken for the United States Air Force....
     - trainer and experimental platform for avionics research
  • Canadair T-33
    Canadair T-33

    The Canadair T-33 was the Canada license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to the 1990s....
     - flight training
  • Extra 300
    Extra 300

    The Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300 is a two-seat aerobatics monoplane capable of Unlimited category Competition aerobatics. It was designed in 1987 in aviation by Walter Extra, an award-winning German people aerobatic pilot....
     - studying pilot perception in a dynamic environment


See also


  • National Research Council Time Signal
    National Research Council Time Signal

    The National Research Council of Canada Radio clock is Canada's longest running but shortest radio programme. Heard every day since November 5, 1939 , at 13:00 Eastern Standard Time Zone across the CBC Radio One network, it lasts between 15 and 25 seconds....
  • Canadian government scientific research organizations
    Canadian government scientific research organizations

    Expenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006....
  • Canadian university scientific research organizations
    Canadian university scientific research organizations

    Expenditures by Canadian universities on scientific research and development accounted for about 40% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2006....
  • Canadian industrial research and development organizations
    Canadian industrial research and development organizations

    Expenditures by Canadian corporations on research and development accounted for about 50% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2007....
  • Science and technology in Canada
    Science and technology in Canada

    Science and technology in Canada consists of three distinct but closely related phenomena:* the diffusion of technology in Canada,* scientific research in Canada...
  • sanofi-aventis international BioGENEius Challenge
    Sanofi-aventis international BioGENEius Challenge

    The sanofi-aventis International BioGENEius Challenge is a competition for high school students that recognizes original research in biotechnology....


External links


NRC and Its Institutes

  • including
  • The NRC , which includes several wind tunnel testing facilities


Other