May 19 2014
Media are invited to attend as researchers from Waterloo and Bordeaux gather to create a bio-chemistry program that will support research into sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels.
The University of Waterloo and Université de Bordeaux also begin a longer conversation about combining strengths with a joint conference, taking place May 19 to 21 in Waterloo.
The conference, which aims to showcase research fro the two institutions and explore challenges they might take on together, will introduce Canada’s only Bachelor of Bio-based Chemistry program to be jointly managed by Bordeaux and Waterloo.
Bio-based chemistry looks for sustainable alternatives — trees and algae, for example — to replace fossil fuels as the prime raw material for polymers, surfactants and other chemicals.
Waterloo president Feridun Hamdullahpur will be joined Tuesday by Jean-François Casabonne Masonnave, France’s consul general in Toronto, and Laurent Servant, Bordeaux’s vice-president, international, to sign a letter of intent to set up the bio-based chemistry program.
The conference covers a wide range of interests: Aging, nanotechnology, energy consumption, smart resource management, biotechnology and maintaining a safe and sustainable water supply. The Waterloo-Bordeaux conference is expected to draw about 100 researchers and other delegates.