Acting Vice-President, Research

Sylvain Charbonneau was appointed Interim Vice-President, Research, for a term starting July 1, 2017.

Mr. Charbonneau received his B. Sc. And M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Ottawa and his Ph.D. degree in Photonics – Semiconductor Physics from Simon Fraser University, British Columbia in 1988. He joined the Institute for Microstructural Sciences of the National Research Council (NRC) in October 1988.

From 1998 to January 2000, he took on the responsibility of Director of Components Technologies for the Institute of Microstructural Sciences at NRC. In late 2000, Mr. Charbonneau, along with three other colleagues, founded a company, Optenia Inc. an NRC spin-off in the communications technology sector. With its 56 employees, the company focused on novel WDM components for fibre to the home application. As founder and Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Charbonneau’s responsibilities included the management of all research and development activities and the formulation of the research road map for the firm.

In 2002, Mr. Charbonneau returned to the Institute for Microstructural Sciences as the lead Director responsible for the construction, the implementation, the management and operation of the CPFC and several other groups within the Institute.

In May 2011, Mr. Charbonneau was named Executive Director responsible for the strategic development of the Printable Electronic Flagship Program – one of four such programs across NRC, accountable for the development of the strategic plan, and its implementation, execution and monitoring. In April 2013, Mr. Charbonneau took the position of Associate Vice-President, Research at the University of Ottawa.