NBIF announces three innovation award winners

Three researchers have been named winners of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation’s R3 Innovation award for 2012.

Dr. John Spray of the University of New Brunswick, Dr. Pandurang Ashrit of the Universite de Mocnton and Dr. Jacques Gagnon of the Research Institute in Shippagan were named Wednesday by the NBIF for the award for excellence in applied research, recognizing innovators who are making a major impact on business and society.

They will be presented their awards March 21 during a ceremony at the Fredericton Convention Centre.

At that event, three short documentary films will be screened about each of the researchers and their work, plus the presentation of the award. At the same time, the NBIF will also announce the winners of the R3 Innovation Challenge, that will see two New Brunswick companies each receive $50,000 worth of research services at one of New Brunswick’s post-secondary research institutions. The evening will also feature a keynote address by INSEAD professor of leadership Hal Gregersen, co-author of “The Innovator’s DNA” about mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators.

Dr. Spray is the Canada Research Chair in Plantary Materials and director of the Planetary and Space Science Centre at the University of New Brunswick.

Dr. Ashrit is the director of the Thin Films Research Group at the Université de Moncton while Dr. Gagnon is the scientific director of the Coastal Zones Research Institute in Shippagan.