Thompson Rivers University Research and Innovation: Driving the Economy in the BC Interior
Research at work: fostering enterprise through applied discovery and innovation
Research at work: fostering enterprise through applied discovery and innovation
The passion for discovery, invention and inquiry at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) benefits and enriches the many facets of community through research partnerships and collaborations.
Discovery in Action
In its quest to become well known as the ‘go-to’ centre for research and development in the interior of BC, in just the past year, TRU engaged in joint research and innovation transfer initiatives with community groups, governmental and non-governmental organizations, Indian bands and universities across Canada and around the world.
Agriculture, Forestry and the BioSciences
Whether it’s creating a new antibiotic from natural sources, figuring out how ranchers can most effectively feed their livestock, or examining ways to mitigate the effects of fire and insect damage to forests, science professors distinguish themselves in national funding competitions for investigations related to ecology, biochemistry, computing, computational chemistry, pharmacology, and mathematics.
Health and Community
Professors in the arts, business, social work, humanities, computing, education and tourism are developing methods and measures to improve the quality of life for all Canadians at work and at home. Projects range from improved hospital scheduling and tourism risk assessment to aiding literacy and improving quality of life for the aged, impoverished and disenfranchised at home and around the world.
Business and Industry
TRU’s unique cross-disciplinary campus, which brings the academic disciplines together with the trades and technologies, has given rise to research and development projects ranging from creating more efficient manufacturing processes, to examining the feasibility of economic ventures for Indian bands, to helping business networks understand, reach and expand their client bases.
Enterprising Ideas
These research enterprises and many others have helped entrepreneurs, government agencies and others involved in a variety of sectors: agriculture, biosciences, cattle industry, energy, value-added food products, health, invention, manufacturing, natural resources, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and transportation, provincial and federal agencies.
Sidebar:
Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner was appointed Associate Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies (AVP RGS) for Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in 2006. Attracted to TRU because of the university’s potential to become an innovative flag-ship university of the highest calibre at the cutting edge of transformations in higher education, she works with faculty and staff to strengthen the culture of research, scholarship and the production of creative works at TRU and develop community linkages and partnerships that facilitate knowledge translation and innovation transfer.
Pull quote:
“The process of inquiry and discovery develops the creativity and enterprise that leads to success, and TRU is rapidly achieving national and international recognition for being at the cutting edge of new knowledge creation.”
Thompson Rivers University Research and Innovation: Driving the Economy in the BC Interior
A clear asset to economic, social and environmental development in the British Columbia Interior, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is home to some of the province’s most innovative and resourceful researchers. Heading the team behind this economic driver is Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner, TRU’s Associate Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies.
“I am committed to building the reputation of TRU as an innovative university of the highest calibre,” said Dr. Van Wagoner, who works with faculty and staff to strengthen research, scholarship and the production of creative works at TRU, and to develop community linkages and partnerships that facilitate knowledge and innovation transfer.
“TRU is rapidly achieving national and international recognition for being at the cutting edge of new knowledge creation,” she said, adding, “TRU is able to mobilize considerable resources for pure and applied research to address the requirements of a variety of sectors.”
Dr. Van Wagoner lists examples from three of these broad sectors to which TRU researchers make important contributions: the agri-food industries, bioproducts and forestry; health and community; business and industry, trades and technology.
“TRU researchers engage in pure and applied research leading to new antibiotics, value-added food products, molecular synthesis, analytical techniques, bioremediation and waste management, watersheds and inland fisheries enhancement, grasslands management strategies, agri-tourism and improved practices for ranching and related industries,” she explained, adding that TRU’s newly established Centre for Innovation in Ranching, Range and Meat Production (CIRRMP) is poised to help the Canadian beef industry respond to and profit from the demands of the 21st-century marketplace .
TRU also brings considerable expertise to investigating issues critical to communities, including health care practices and reform, arts and culture, education and literacy, and strategies to meet changing demographics in which community and university partners examine such issues as aging, homelessness, and community justice.
Van Wagoner fosters partnerships at the campus level as well.
“TRU’s unique cross-disciplinary campus brings the academic disciplines together with the trades and technologies, giving rise to research and development ranging from creating more efficient manufacturing processes and examining the feasibility of economic ventures, to helping business networks understand, reach and expand their client bases,” she said.
As she guides the process of inquiry and discovery to develop the creativity and enterprise fundamental for success, Van Wagoner’s enthusiasm and drive for excellence is well matched by the passion for discovery, invention and inquiry at TRU which enables faculty to be at the forefront of their disciplines and leaders in their field, to the benefit of the region, the country, and the international community.
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