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Introduction

He'll help tune up the city's economy

11/15/06

The Hamilton Spectator (Nov 15, 2006)
by Steve Arnold

The new president of McMaster University's Longwood Road idea factory believes it will be a key part of the city's future economy.

Zach Douglas, who previously led two similar research parks in Saskatchewan, will be announced this morning as the founding president of the McMaster Innovation Park.

"Research parks like this are a very valuable tool for supporting research coming out of universities, but they're also a way of contributing to the economic growth of the community at large," he said in an interview. "The Hamilton economy is in transition, clearly the manufacturing sector has been hard hit and hopefully the research park will help on that account and support economic growth in the community."

The former site of the Camco refrigerator plant, the 37-acre innovation park will offer up to 1 million square feet of laboratory, office, teaching, training, and conference facilities. Its initial focus will be on advanced manufacturing and materials, nanotechnology and biotechnology.

Douglas, who has a long history in managing Crown corporations and consulting, said the plan to focus on areas in which McMaster has proven strengths is the right plan for a new facility.

"For these parks to succeed they have to build on the strengths of the universities they're affiliated with," he said. "McMaster University has a very good reputation for its research."

Some research space in the park is being filled even before major construction work starts -- an anchor tenant will be the federal government's CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory where 100 scientists and support workers will study metals and materials fabrication, processing and evaluation.

Also slated for the park is McMaster's recently announced radio frequency identification lab where scientists and graduate students will look for ways to help business and industry cut costs by using transponders and other methods to track their inventory.

As president, Douglas will report to an independent board of directors and will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the park. His appointment is for a five-year term.

His family will join him in Hamilton after the end of the school year.

sarnold@thespec.com / 905-526-3496

Latest Projects

The latest project happening at McMaster Innovation Park 2010

CANMET-MTL is the 165,000 square foot facility currently under construction and nearing completion that will house the Canadian Government’s Materials Technology Laboratory and is part of the $60M commitment to the Park from the federal government.

News

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