COOLER VISION.

Is it possible to cool an object, rather than heating it, with light? Could we look forward one day to coolers and fans as tiny as a beam of light?

SÉBASTIEN LORANGER studies at Polytechnique Montréal. Winner of the 2012 André Hamer Postgraduate Prize from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Sébastien is conducting research into the use of lasers and new materials for cooling. The technology could make bulky coolers and electric fans things of the past, and produce a new generation of even tinier electronic devices and lasers.

WHAT IS ESSENTIAL IS (NO LONGER) INVISIBLE.

How can we extend the frontiers of biomedical imaging? Is it possible to detect the mineral content of ore in a pitch-black mine, deep below the surface? How can we see even farther out into the universe around us?

OLIVIER DAIGLE, earned a PhD in astrophysics from the Physics Department of the Université de Montréal. During his doctoral studies he designed an ultrasensitive camera that can be used to explore hitherto unknown territory. NASA was the first client to acquire a model of the prototype. In addition to astronomy, the camera has applications in biomedical imaging, chemistry, biology, nano-technology, pharmacology and many other disciplines.

WINGING OUR WAY FORWARD.

How can we push the boundaries of aircraft design? Can we reduce their fuel consumption, pollution and noise? And build them for less?

JEAN-YVES TRÉPANIER is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Polytechnique Montréal and holds the NSERC-J.-A.-Bombardier-Pratt & Whitney Canada Industrial Research Chair in Integrated Design toward Efficient Aircraft (IDEA). His work deals with digital airflow simulation, aerodynamic design and optimization, geometric modelling and computer infrastructure to support engineering design.

CHINA, THE JAPAN OF THE 21^ST CENTURY?

China has become the world’s second most powerful economy in the space of just 30 years, and its rapid economic growth echoes Japan’s performance in the 20th century. Will it be able to successfully manage its social and environmental growth at the same time? Can we expect a Chinese approach to sustainable development, an approach based on Confucian values of collective harmony rather than Western individualistic ones?

FATIMA-ZOHRA ER-RAFIA is an engineer by training. She is completing her PhD in management at HEC Montréal while teaching undergraduate and graduate management courses, also at HEC. She has won several scholarships and awards of excellence. In her research work on international and intercultural comparative management she is contrasting Japan’s development with that of China, at a time when the Middle Kingdom is astounding and intriguing the West with its robust economy and complex model.

VANQUISHING CANCER.

How do genes behave as cancer cells proliferate? Is it possible to design therapies to specifically target cancer stem cells?

JULIE LESSARD, has some remarkable accomplishments to her credit. After four years at Stanford University, in California, she joined the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at the Université de Montréal. She is now a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, where she has come up with some decisive advances in the battle against cancer. In particular, she discovered a key genetic determinant of the self-renewal capacity of leukemic stem cells. Her research has earned her many awards and distinctions.

PURSUING GROWTH.

How does a company ensure its future growth when it’s time for the founders to pass the torch? What are the keys to effective succession planning in a family business? How can the new owners benefit from their predecessors’ experience? How can entrepreneurship be fostered in the younger generations? What are the best practices to ensure an entrepreneurial succession?

LUIS CISNEROS, a graduate of the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, in Mexico, of Université Paris IX – Dauphine (France) and HEC Paris (France), and now an Associate Professor at HEC Montréal, Professor Cisneros directs the McGill-HEC Montréal International Business Families Centre, an organization that studies the question of Entrepreneurial succession in family businesses and the various issues faced by business families. He is also conducting research into entrepreneurship and team succession plans here and around the world.

ROWING TOWARD THE FUTURE.

How is it possible to stay physically and mentally fit for years, without losing sight of your goal? How can you up the pace when you’ve already given everything you’ve got? How can you go back to training when you’ve watched a medal slip through your fingers by mere fractions of a second?

ANDRÉANNE MORIN studies law at the Université de Montréal. A silver medallist in the women’s eight rowing event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she finished fourth at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and seventh at the Athens Games in 2004. She is a three-time World Championships medallist in the eight, and was also the 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rowing champion in the Varsity 8. That same year she completed a BA in political economy at Princeton University.

LEADERSHIP AND VISION.

How can one transform a fear of losing into an absolute desire for victory? Is it possible to turn one’s performance around and achieve one’s wildest dreams? How to help people and organizations adopt a new vision and reach ambitious goals?

DANIÈLE SAUVAGEAU is a graduate of the Université de Montréal and HEC Montréal, and currently the General Manager of the Carabins women’s hockey program. Over the course of her career she has attended seven Olympic Games, as women’s hockey coach, general manager and coaching consultant. Thanks to her leadership, the women’s team won seven consecutive World Championships and twice reached the Olympic podium.

Danièle Sauvageau has also contributed to the success of a number of Canadian athletes in about fifteen disciplines. Many public- and private-sector clients are now calling on her expertise in coaching and forming winning teams to advise them on performance in a host of fields. Danièle Sauvageau has worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Montréal Police Department for over 27 years.

GLOBAL MOBILITY.

How can we pool disciplines as varied as education sciences, cognitive sciences, computer sciences, artificial intelligence, engineering and telecommunications to reap the wonders of mobile technology?

SAMUEL PIERRE is a Professor in the Computer and Software Engineering Department at Polytechnique Montréal. He spares no effort to motivate talented students by providing them with access to specialized experimental laboratories. Samuel Pierre received the Order of Canada in 2012 for his contribution to the field of wired and wireless telecommunications networks, and for his leadership within Québec’s Haitian community.

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.

How can we harmonize modes of production and consumption with new sustainable development values? Is it possible to manufacture eco-friendly, socially acceptable, economically viable, culturally enriching products tailored to our technological lifestyle?

PIERRE-OLIVIER PINEAU is Associate Professor of the School of Quantitative Methods for Management at HEC Montréal, and professor/researcher at the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG).

RÉJEAN SAMSON is a Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at Polytechnique Montréal, and Director General of the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG). He focuses primarily on issues relating to the environmental footprint of industrial products and processes through research partnerships with universities and institutes in Canada and abroad.

ANNE MARCHAND is Assistant Professor with the School of Industrial Design at Université de Montréal, and associate researcher with the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG).

THE E. COLI THREAT.

How can we prevent E. coli infections? Is it possible to anticipate new strains of bacteria and prevent the risk of epidemic in humans and farm animals?

GHYSLAINE VANIER, research officer, Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli.

JOHN M. FAIRBROTHER is a Professor in the Pathology and Microbiology Department (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) at Université de Montréal. For over 35 years, he has headed the Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli, a research unit accredited by the World Animal Health Organization. He is also co-founder of Prevtec microbia, a Université de Montréal spin-off company specializing in methods of preventing bacterial infection for livestock production.

FLAVIEN NDONGO KASSÉ, Master’s student, Bateriology, Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli.