The smallest structural building block of trees is promising the biggest array of business opportunities for Canada's forest products industry.

Could specialty enzymes from marine sources become eco-friendly alternatives to caustic chemicals used in the production of biodiesel from slaughterhouse scraps?

In British Columbia, more than 13 million hectares of pine trees – an area equivalent to Denmark and Portugal combined – have been ravaged by the menacing mountain pine beetle. While the devastation may seem troublesome to most, Dr. Jack Saddler sees an upside: the opportunity to derive eco-friendly bio fuels from the beetle-infested wood.

Recruiting highly qualified people can be an onerous, costly and time-consuming task. But as Iogen Corporation of Ottawa has discovered, there is an affordable way to minimize the hiring burden that also allows businesses to add bench strength to their R&D functions.

Paul Paolatto is understandably excited these days. The interim CEO of Agri-Therm Inc., a University of Western Ontario (UWO) spin-off, is fielding scores of sales leads and inquiries from around the world concerning a novel biomass-to-energy conversion system that wheels its way to the source of feedstock.

Canada's construction industry is realizing tens of millions of dollars in productivity gains from the application of computer simulation tools pioneered by an NSERC Industrial Research Chair at the University of Alberta...

Computer-generated models developed by university researchers are enabling construction of an Edmonton tunnel to proceed ahead of schedule and under budget...

A new test specification for asphalt binders, emerging from a university-industry-government R&D partnership, promises to dramatically increase the typical 10- to 15-year life span of paved roads and highways...

An NSERC Industrial Research Chair at the Université de Sherbrooke is advancing composite materials technologies that could potentially quadruple the serviceable life of concrete structures, ranging from bridges to parking garages...

Pultrall Inc. of Thetford Mines, Quebec, has leveraged a relationship with the Université de Sherbrooke to transform its money-losing fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) rods business into a profitable enterprise...