Leading researchers, industry representatives and academics in science and engineering from Canada and India are gathering today at York’s Keele campus as part of a two-day Canada-India Frontiers workshop, which will explore new developments in science and engineering
The first event of its kind, the workshop, which began yesterday and continues today, offers a forum for participants to share ideas, resources and technologies, and engage in discussions about current and future topics of importance to science and engineering in Canada and India.
Speaking at the workshop are Vijay Saraswat, scientific adviser to India’s defence minister; William Selvamurthy, chief controller of research & development at India’s Defence Research & 
Development Organization (DRDO); David Kendall, the general director of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Professor Janusz Kozinski, dean of York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering.
Right: Janusz Kozinski
Over the course of the event, participants will be exploring shared synergies, knowledge and advancements in areas such as space exploration, nanosatellite technology, space robotics and disease modelling research. They will also be examining how to collaborate on a new project known as the Early Warning and Advance Response Network (e-WARN). Spearheaded by Kozinski, e-WARN is intended to detect, quantify and initiate an effective response to chemical and biological threats released in public buildings. Researchers from both countries will discuss and plan how to collaborate on the e-WARN project.
Attending the workshop from India are representatives from the DRDO, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, the University of Calcutta and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Also attending are researchers from York University, the University of Saskatchewan, McGill University, Concordia University and Ryerson University, and representatives from the Canadian Space Agency, COM DEV International, Unique Broadband Systems, Microstat Systems Canada, Canadian Light Source, MDA Technologies, Xiphos Technologies and the Canada-India Business Counci.
Other topics that are part of the workshop include advances in alternative energy, space science and engineering, advanced materials and instrumentation, and life sciences.
For more information, visit the Canada-India Frontiers 2011 website.