BACKGROUNDER
May 12, 2009
PREMIER’S CATALYST AWARDS
The Premier’s Catalyst Awards celebrate exceptional unions of innovation and entrepreneurship in Ontario.
Awards are presented to companies that have championed a new or significantly improved product or service based on breakthrough technology. Innovations must be commercially successful and have the potential to enhance Ontario's economy, society or sustainable development.
Awards of $200,000 were given in each of the following categories:
- Best Young Innovator
- Innovator of the Year
- Start-up Company with the Best Innovation
- Company with the Best Innovation (two winners)
- Lifetime Leadership in Innovation
2009 CATALYST AWARD RECIPIENTS
Best Young Innovator
Dr. Bin Ma
Bioinformatics Solutions Inc.
Waterloo
Bioinformatics researchers have been searching for a precise way to identify novel proteins since the early 1980s. It took Dr. Bin Ma, Chief Technology Officer at Bioinformatics Solutions, to succeed where no-one else had. In 2002 he developed PEAKS. Used by leading pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, research hospitals, government labs and university research centres worldwide, PEAKS has filled a pressing need for accurate and rapid protein identification which helps accelerate drug development. Dr. Ma has been equally innovative in marketing PEAKS, increasing sales by 20 to 40 per cent a year since its launch and helping Bioinformatics Solutions become the world’s second largest protein identification software provider.
Innovator of the Year
Dr. Navid Zargari
Dr. Navid Zargari’s field of expertise is power electronics and electric drives. He was instrumental in developing the world’s first transformerless medium voltage motor drive, the PF7000, for Rockwell Automation. Medium voltage drives are used by a range of advanced manufacturers and by eliminating the need for a transformer, Dr. Zargari’s innovation provides superior reliability, safety and ease of use – at less cost. The PF7000 has been so successful it has helped Rockwell grow its sales by over $100 million in five years and established the company as one of the top three MV drive suppliers worldwide. An adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ryerson University, Dr. Zargari promotes strong academia-industry relationships and is a champion of technology transfer.
Start-up Company with the Best Innovation
Cinevate Inc.
Thunder Bay
Dennis Wood started Cinevate in the basement of his home. Within two years the company grew from a great idea into a leader in the field of optical and cinematography products. Wood’s first innovation – and Cinevate’s flagship product – is the Brevis 35 mm lens adapter. It allows today’s newest video cameras to use traditional photographic lenses, making it possible for filmmakers to achieve the look of Hollywood films for a fraction of the cost. The adapter is revolutionizing filmmaking and capturing the attention of the film and video industry worldwide.
Cinevate’s entry into the market was also well timed. Sales of low-cost, high definition cameras and computer-based post-production tools are growing, and with users looking for ways to improve image quality and emulate the “feature film look,” Cinevate is poised to corner the global market in camera adapter equipment.
Company with the Best Innovation
Sanofi Pasteur
Toronto
Sanofi Pasteur is Ontario’s oldest and largest vaccine company. Founded in 1914 as Connaught Laboratories, the company has been at the forefront of vaccine research and development ever since. Among its innovations is Pentacel, a vaccine for children that protects against five serious diseases – diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Heamophilus Influenzae type b – with just one shot. Introduced in 1997, Pentacel has dramatically reduced the rate of whooping cough in Canada and virtually eliminated Heamophilus Influenzae type b in the country. Originally developed for the Canadian market, Pentacel is now being used in more than 50 countries and is on its way to generating $500 million annually for Sanofi Pasteur.
Company with the Best Innovation
Unitron Hearing
Kitchener
With the number of people experiencing hearing loss rising quickly, demand for sophisticated hearing instruments is growing. Unitron Hearing has responded with a new premium hearing aid called the Yuu. Released in 2007, the Yuu quickly established a new industry benchmark for performance, aesthetics and ease of use. Promoted as the most intelligent hearing aid ever designed, its success is the result of innovations in real-time digital signal processing, user-interface design, mechanical design and ergonomics. The result is a smaller hearing aid that delivers more personalized listening satisfaction in every environment – and captures an individual’s preferences for future use. In an industry that’s growing at three to six per cent a year, Unitron has seen sales increase 30 per cent annually since the launch of the Yuu.
Lifetime Leadership in Innovation
Dr. Scott Vanstone
Waterloo
For the U.S. National Security Agency and Communications Security Establishment Canada, lives can depend on secure communications and the secrecy of data. Certicom’s Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is the technology of choice to secure all top-secret, mission-critical and sensitive data and communications. Developed by Certicom co-founder Dr. Scott Vanstone, ECC uses sophisticated mathematics to secure a wide array of high technology hardware and software products – from cell phones to smart cards, wireless emails to e-commerce. This elegant technology has won Dr. Vanstone numerous awards, as well as recognition from influential EE Times as one of the 25 greatest minds in the world. Dr. Vanstone also was instrumental in the creation of the Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research at the University of Waterloo, a world-leading institution.
See also:
- Backgrounder: Premier’s Discovery Awards
- Backgrounder: Premier’s Summit Award In Medical Research
- Multimedia: Premier’s Innovation Awards 2009
