From left: Florentine Strzelczyk, provost and vice-president (academic); Bryan Neff, vice-president of research (acting) with David Harris, president and CEO of Kinectrics and Dave Muir, associate vice-president, innovation & strategic partnerships at Western, at the signing of the agreement. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
Western has signed a partnership agreement to facilitate collaboration in areas related to nuclear research, with energy and environmental consultants Kinectrics Inc.
This is the second nuclear MoU initiative by the Western Research, Innovations & Strategic Partnerships office, after the partnership agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, signed on Feb. 14, 2023.
The Western-Kinectrics partnership agreement, signed on August 15, focuses on facilitating collaborations in the areas of health, safety and security, and energy and the environment. These collaborations include student training and internships, research and development activities (including access to specialized infrastructure), and knowledge mobilization (including intellectual property protection and commercialization).
The agreement was signed at Stevenson Hall in the presence of Florentine Strzelczyk, provost and vice-president (academic); Bryan Neff, vice-president of research (acting) and Dave Muir, associate vice-president, innovation & strategic partnerships. Kinectrics president and CEO David Harris signed the MoU on behalf of the company.
"This partnership agreement with Kinectrics Inc. represents an exciting opportunity to further grow our nuclear research expertise," said Strzelczyk.
"Together, Western and Kinectrics will help ensure Canada remains a leader in nuclear science and technology, contributing solutions to the increasingly global threats related to health, the environment, and sustainability."
"I have been really pleased to see the growth of our new Western Nuclear Hub over the past year, and particularly the relationships it has facilitated on and off campus," said Neff.
"We look forward to working closely with Kinectrics to strengthen our collective capacity to develop nuclear research and training opportunities that benefit Canadians and help create a more sustainable future," he said.
The research enabled by this partnership will involve Western's faculties of Engineering, Science and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Research areas will include imaging and radiopharmaceuticals; reactors, fuel and power grids; cybersecurity; high-performance computing and artificial intelligence; remote monitoring and sensing, among others.
"The strategic partnership with Kinectrics is an important milestone that builds on decades of nuclear research expertise at Western," said Muir.
"This collaboration will help drive science and technology innovation in Canada, as well as achieve research missions across faculties and provide our students with outstanding training opportunities."
"Diversifying our partnership network with esteemed Canadian universities like Western University, reflects Kinectrics' unwavering commitment to drive the nuclear industry's evolution through collaborative research and the cultivation of exceptional talent," said David Harris, president and CEO of Kinectrics.
The company provides lifecycle management services for the electricity industry. Their expertise in engineering, testing, inspection, and certification is backed by their independent laboratory and testing facilities, a diverse fleet of field inspection equipment and a team of over 1,200 engineers and technical experts.
