Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board
The Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board reviews and assesses Ontario Research Fund and Early Researcher Award funding proposals, and makes recommendations to the Minister of Research and Innovation. The ORF Advisory Board also provides strategic advice to the Minister on the research agenda to keep Ontario competitive and prosperous.
The board has a capacity for 12 members, and more appointees will be announced in the future. Members of the advisory board include:
Carol Stephenson, Chair, is the dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. She was president and CEO of Lucent Technologies Canada from 1999 to 2003. Ms. Stephenson is a director at ING Canada, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund and trustee of the Union Energy Waterheater Operating Trust. She also serves on the federal government's Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation and is a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Science and Technology.
Dr. Ronald Worton, Vice Chair, is the CEO and scientific director of the Ottawa Health Research Institute, vice president of Research at the Ottawa Hospital, and professor at the University of Ottawa, Department of Medicine. His work, primarily on the genetic cause of muscular dystrophy, has been published in leading journals, review articles and book chapters. Dr. Worton is a past president of the American Society of Human Genetics and former scientific director of the Stem Cell Networks. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Gairdner International Award. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a recipient of the Order of Canada.
Elizabeth Dowdeswell is president and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. She also serves as visiting professor in global health and genomics at the Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto and was appointed as one of the first mentors with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. From 1993 to 1998 as under secretary general of the United Nations, she headed up the United Nations Environment Program. Her early career included terms as assistant deputy minister of Environment Canada, deputy minister of culture and youth for the province of Saskatchewan, management consultant, university lecturer and high school teacher.
Dr. Javad Mostaghimi is a professor and Canada Research Chair in advanced coating technologies at the University of Toronto. He is the founding director of the Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies and the co-founder of Simulent Inc. His main research interests include the study of thermal spray coatings, transport phenomena and electromagnetics in thermal plasma sources. Dr. Mostaghimi is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as well as a fellow of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Dr. Brant Peppley has gained international recognition as a leading researcher in fuel cells and fuel cell systems. He is the director of the Queen's-RMC Fuel Cell Research Centre and the Associate Industrial Research Chair in Fuel Processing for Fuel Cells for the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) at the Royal Military College of Canada. He has served as scientific advisor to the Canadian Department of National Defence for a number of fuel cell research contracts. Current research activities include modelling of polymer electrolyte fuel cells and the development of new technologies for processing conventional and biomass fuels for use in solid oxide fuel cells.
Dr. Gord Surgeoner is president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies. He was a University of Guelph faculty member for 29 years where he was director of the plants program and professor in Environmental Biology and Plant Agriculture. He has served on numerous federal and provincial advisory boards. Dr. Surgeoner has been awarded the Order of Ontario, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award, the Distinguished Extension Award from the University of Guelph and the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Guelph OAC Alumni Foundation.
