The Honourable Reza Moridi will present the ORION Leadership Awards recognizing K-12, College and University leaders at the THINK Conference on April 25

TORONTO, April 22, 2013 /CNW/ - The ORION Leadership Awards recognize innovation leadership in Ontario's K‐12, Higher Education, and e‐Infrastructure sectors. On April 25th at ORION's Annual THINK Conference the Honourable Reza Moridi, Minister of Research and Innovation will present Leadership Awards to Jack McMaster, Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board (K‐12 Schools), Dr. Paul Corkum, University of Ottawa Professor and National Research Council Scientist (Higher Education), and Dr. Berge Minassian, Principal Researcher and Neurologist at the Hospital for Sick Children (E‐Infrastructure).

• Under the leadership of Jack McMaster, Director of Education, the Keewatin Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) is purchasing nearly $2.3 million worth of technology for students. KPDSB trustees approved the second phase of the 21st Century Technology for Teaching and Learning Plan, which will allow students in grades four to twelve to receive their very own personal computers and every four students in kindergarten to grade three will get a minimum of one iPad to share.
• Dr. Paul Corkum, University of Ottawa professor and National Research Council (NRC) scientist, was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Science - one of the world's most prestigious awards - for his ground-breaking development of attosecond imaging. For more than 30 years, he has been pushing the frontiers on how light and matter interact and he became the first to successfully produce a 650 attosecond pulse (one attosecond is one billionth of one billionth of a second).
• Led by Dr. Minassian, a team of Canadian researchers have used the power of genomics to identify the cause of a rare Parkinson's-like disease in children and come up with a treatment to reverse its effects. It is believed to be the first time that a new disease has been discovered, its cause determined and a treatment determined in a relatively short period of time - just two years.

The Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION) is Ontario's advanced technology fibre optic network that connects the province's research and education sectors. ORION is convening the Annual THINK Conference to encourage the organizations it serves to consider "extreme data" and to collaborate on developing ideas that lead to innovative solutions.

The THINK Conference will feature local and international data experts: Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner, John Weigelt, Microsoft Canada National Technology Officer, and Dr. Gregory Bell, Director of the US Energy Sciences Network.

SOURCE: Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION)

For media enquiries or interview requests please contact:    

Joshua Tucker
Content Coordinator, ORION
416.507.9860   ext. 226
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Schedule and registration at: http://www.thinkconference.ca/