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68-491: In 1962 it was selected as the site for the Algonquin 46m radio telescope , which has been the site's primary instrument through most of its history. An earlier 10 m instrument was set up in 1961 though was not equipped with a drive mechanism until 1964. The site also hosts a hydrogen maser, a standard feature for radio telescopes that can also serve to receive telemetry from deep space missions. Other instruments formerly at

136-487: A semiconductor commonly used in light-emitting diodes . The GaN Electronics Program supports partner research and development activities with a goal of ensuring that GaN technology will create wealth and a greener future for Canadians. The NRC is the only Canadian foundry for GaN electronics, and offers both normally-on and normally-off devices. The GaN500v2 Foundry Design Kit was released on June 28, 2014. The NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program ( NRC-IRAP )

204-529: A 23-month period during which NRC management was aware that the organization was contaminating the water table outside its fire-safety testing facility in Mississippi Mills, Ontario , with perfluorinated chemicals used in firefighting foams and did not inform that community's inhabitants. John McDougall's departure – signalled by a sudden, three-line email to employees in March 2016 announced that he

272-461: A NRC $ 35,750 grant. NRC's fleet of research and test aircraft The NRC has a fleet of nine aircraft for their research purposes: NRC's past fleet of research and test aircraft Former aircraft include other models of the nine listed above and the following: Research aircraft Several Nobel laureates have been associated with the NRC at various points of their careers, including: Under

340-551: A budget of approximately $ 97 million (2013–2018), the Canadian Wheat Alliance will be conducting research on improving the yield of Canadian wheat crops and on the most efficient use of chemical fertilizers. Working with breeders and scientists at the Crop Development Centre and at AAFC, they will be integrating long-term research with genetic improvement of wheat. Gallium nitride (GaN) is

408-474: A centimeter, and the plated area was not smooth enough to focus wavelengths shorter than about 1.5 cm. As attention in radio telescopy turned to shorter wavelengths, representing higher energy events, the ARO became less useful to NRC. After planning to resurface it so that it could operate at wavelengths as small as 3 mm, the NRC decided to cease operations at ARO in 1987 which were subsequently transferred to

476-463: A change in research focus away from basic research and towards industry-relevant research. This included the development of multiple programs which shifted the research budget out of existing projects and into a number of focused programs. In October 2012, John McDougall and his appointment, Dr. Ian Potter (VP Business Management), served termination notices to all of the NRC's Business Development Officer's (BDOs) across Canada, which ultimately impacted

544-466: A company involved in lobbying for the development of an algae system to recycle carbon emissions. The NRC was not involved in this area of research prior to the arrival of McDougall. The Canadian Wheat Improvement Program is a "strategic collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the University of Saskatchewan ’s Crop Development Centre and the province of Saskatchewan." With

612-400: A more radio-quiet location. But as Ottawa grew this site soon started becoming radio-noisy as well, due mostly to increasing air traffic at a nearby airport. Looking to improve the quality of their measurements, they proposed building a new solar telescope located far away from built up areas. Easy access from Ottawa made Algonquin a fairly obvious choice, although it was about 200 km away

680-437: A study of flare stars by Queen's University . It was also used by Alan Bridle and Paul Feldman in 1974 for the first SETI search to be carried out at the 1.35 cm wavelength, emitted by water molecules in space. The surface of the 150 ft (46 m) telescope consisted of a mix of aluminum mesh around the outside and plates covering most of the surface. The mesh was almost transparent to wavelengths less than around

748-603: Is operated in a global network with other large radio telescopes around the world in order to create an interferometric array. By careful correlation of this data researchers hope to create a telescope aperture with a resolving power equivalent to the diameter of the Earth. The observatory hosts the Long Wavelength Laboratory of the University of Toronto, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics and

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816-698: Is set out in the National Research Council Act . Under the Act, the NRC is responsible for: Over 5,000 people across Canada are employed by the NRC. In addition, the NRC also employs guest workers from universities, companies, and public and private-sector organizations. The National Research Council was established in 1916, under the pressure of World War I , to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. In 1932, laboratories were built on Sussex Drive in Ottawa and

884-518: Is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research and development . It is the largest federal research and development organization in Canada. The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (currently, François-Philippe Champagne ) is responsible for the NRC. NRC is an agency of the Government of Canada , and its mandate

952-442: Is to provide a completely isolated environment that, according to Barton, registers a noise level that is less than 0dB. (0dB is a statistical average of the lowest level of human hearing.) Wedges made from fibreglass are inside the chamber, and they help create the reflection-free environment. No sound gets in, none gets out, and what occurs within gets completely absorbed with nary a bounce. From 2002 to 2006, John R. McDougall , who

1020-502: The HALCA satellite, producing a 30,000 km-baseline telescope. The system is driven by the S2 software developed at York University . The observatory is operated by Thoth Technology which provides geodetic and deep space network services utilizing the 46 m antenna. The site is an active control point for the global positioning system . The main antenna is equipped with receivers for

1088-730: The Montreal Laboratory , and later the Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario. Post-WWII, the NRC reverted to its pre-war civilian role, and a number of wartime activities were spun off to newly formed organizations. Military research continued under a new organization, the Defence Research Board , while inventions with commercial potential were transferred to the newly formed Canadian Patents and Development Limited ; and atomic research went to

1156-741: The Neilson Report , which recommended across-the-board financial cuts to all federal government organizations, including the NRC. This led to staff and program cutbacks. By 1985, however, two entities emerged from the National Research Council: the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (see SSHRC Act) and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (See NSERC Act). The emergence of these Councils, for all material reasons, took over funding from

1224-474: The 150 ft (46 m) telescope started in the spring of 1964. The concrete base weighed 300 tons, the steel dish and its rotating mount another 900 tons. An equatorial mount in the base, only five feet high, positioned the instrument. The telescope was designed to operate at higher frequencies than existing instruments, requiring much of it to be constructed of flat plates instead of an open mesh in order to accurately focus these signals. The surface

1292-569: The ARO became less useful. After planning to resurface it so that it could operate at wavelengths as small as 3 mm, the NRC decided to close the ARO in 1987 and purchase a 25% share in the new James Clerk Maxwell Telescope , which would include a radio telescope that could operate at 0.3 to 2 mm. In 1988 the NRC invited the operators of the Hay River Radio Observatory in the Northwest Territories ,

1360-478: The ARO for some time, after having moved it from the David Dunlap Observatory which proved to be too close to the growing Toronto area. The smaller University of Toronto antenna and the 32-dish solar observatory were both donated to project TARGET, and have since been relocated to a new site near Shelburne, Ontario . The main ARO telescope was later operated by Natural Resources Canada and

1428-488: The Canadian press have dropped 80 per cent. The union that represents federal scientists and other professionals has, for the first time in its history, abandoned neutrality to campaign against Mr. Harper. The appointment by Harper's Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear of John McDougall as President of the NRC was followed by several controversies: In 2011, President John McDougall began to oversee

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1496-706: The Center for Research in Earth and Space Technology (CRESTech)). The multi-dish solar observatory was sold in the early 2000s, and the second solar observatory antenna was moved to the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia . The Observatory's main uses today are in very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiments mostly in geodesy , a primary global positioning system site, some use for satellite downlink, and other general experiments. Since 2007,

1564-530: The Cesium Beam atomic clock in the 1960s. Since 1974, Paul Barton of PSB Speakers used the NRC's world-class measurement facilities, their anechoic chamber. By the 1980s, more companies began to use this resource, develop it further, and tested their loudspeakers at the NRC. Electrical engineer, Floyd E. Toole, who worked at the NRC was at the centre of this research. By the year 2000, most companies had their own sound chambers, but Barton continued to use

1632-543: The Communications and Operations section of York University's Space Engineering Laboratory. Algonquin 46m radio telescope The Algonquin 46m radio telescope (ARO) is a radio telescope at the Algonquin Radio Observatory , Canada. This radio telescope is historically famous for taking part in the first successful very long baseline interferometry experiment in the 1960s, where it

1700-667: The Federal Government and is responsible for relaying that to Academic Institutions, Academic hospitals and Research Institutions under the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions, administered by a Secretariat (on the Responsible Conduct of Research). In 2000, there were about 1000 NRC researchers with PhDs conducting research in many areas. Recovery

1768-518: The Interstellar Electromagnetics Institute (IEI), to relocate their SETI efforts to ARO. Due to budget cuts the NRC had been unable to use the ARO for research for some time, and were looking for low-cost projects that might be able to make use of the equipment. IEI jumped at the chance, and operated a SETI effort known as Project TARGET on the 18 m UofT telescope until 1991, when continuing budget cuts forced

1836-565: The Medical Research Committee was formed with Dr. Frederick Banting as the inaugural Chair. With the impetus of World War II , the NRC grew rapidly and for all practical purposes, became a military science and weapons research organization. It undertook a number of important projects, which included participation with the United States and United Kingdom , in the development of chemical and germ warfare agents,

1904-567: The NRC had over 30 approved programs, including the following. The following are the NRC's various research centres and their areas of R&D: Former facilities: The goal of the Algal Carbon Conversion Pilot Program was to develop of an algae system to recycle carbon emissions from the oil sands . It contained plans for a $ 19-million facility to be constructed in Alberta, in partnership between

1972-471: The NRC to cease operation of the site. The continuing solar measurements, now used worldwide to predict communications problems due to sunspot activity, were turned over to DRAO. At first the DRAO instrument was made "prime", and then once operation was demonstrated, the original Ottawa instrument was moved to join it as a hot backup . The University of Toronto also operated their own 18 m telescope at

2040-424: The NRC to hire a young graphics design graduate to work on their "CUROS" people management software. Oasys Healthcare, a company that provides "innovative audio and video solutions for the medical marketplace" received a $ 13,000 NRC grant for its new technology for operating rooms. Jeffrey Ross Jewellery's product called Dimples, imprints fingerprints in silver using an innovative process and material, developed through

2108-704: The NRC were handed over to the newly formed Medical Research Council of Canada . By 1960, the Medical Research Committee had separated from the National Research Council, forming the Medical Research Council of Canada (which dissolved upon the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [ and the initial withdrawal from the National Reserve in 1997 (see Budget Implementation Act 1997), which

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2176-513: The NRC's facilities. In about 1990, PSB and other Canadian companies worked with the NRC on Athena to evaluate digital signal processing (DSP) for loudspeaker design. The metal walls of the NRC’s anechoic chamber are located about a foot and a half from the internal walls that surround it. The whole chamber is suspended on springs. This makes it a building within the M-37 building. The purpose of all this

2244-430: The NRC, Canadian Natural Resources , and Pond Biofuels. In 2008, researchers from five I-CAN organizations were developing a Carbon Algae Recycling System (CARS) to "feed waste heat and flue gas containing CO 2 from industrial exhaust stacks to micro-algae growing in artificial ponds." The "Algal Carbon Conversion", is related to prior interests of NRC President John McDougall , as he previously headed Innoventures,

2312-561: The Ontario Institute for Solar and Terrestrial Science (ISTS) in 1991. ISTS operated the antenna for several years before operation was returned to the Federal Government through Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). NRCan set about modernizing the facility, upgrading the antenna control and receiver systems to enable the antenna to participate in the International very-long-baseline interferometry Service (IVS). The antenna

2380-568: The Space Geodynamics Laboratory, CRESTech, who used the telescope in VLBI projects to measure the movements of continental plates in geodetic surveys. They have made several upgrades to the main 150 ft (46 m) telescope after taking over operations, allowing it to track at higher speeds necessary to track satellites . The telescope was used in ongoing VLBI experiments carried out by a worldwide consortium supported by

2448-573: The Sun's disk, compared to the single-dish instrument which saw the sun as a single unresolved "dot". The new instrument was up and running in 1966, adding to Covington's study of the sun by directly imaging the radio signal from sunspots and filaments. In 1961, the site was selected by the National Research Council of Canada as suitable for the construction of a 120 ft (37 m) fully steerable antenna. By 1962, plans showed that

2516-425: The detection of radio sources at VHF , UHF , L-band , S-band and X-band . The observatory is also equipped with a hydrogen maser that maintains time standard stability to one part in 10 in order to facilitate data correlation. The facility provides educational field schools for students from junior high to postdoctoral training programs including York University 's space engineering field school. Since 2012,

2584-695: The explosive RDX , the proximity fuse, radar , and submarine detection techniques. A special branch, known as the Examination Unit, was involved with cryptology and the interception of enemy radio communications. According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service website, the NRC headquarters in Ottawa "was a prime espionage target" during the Cold War . The NRC was also engaged in atomic fission research at

2652-721: The facility was started as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada's inability to produce COVID-19 Vaccines. The facility is expected to open in July 2021, and will have a vaccine manufacturing capacity of 2 million does per month. In February 2021, the Canadian government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Novavax to pursue manufacturing its NVX-CoV2373 vaccine at the Biologics Manufacturing Centre. In September 2020, President Iain Stewart

2720-404: The first to successfully use the technique. Their target for the experiment was quasar 3C 273 . Recordings were made into the early morning of April 17, 1967. DRAOs tapes and atomic clock were shipped to the ARO for comparison, and after a month of trying to get the data to "line up", on May 21 they succeeded. After a few more days they had made the first highly accurate measurement of the size of

2788-575: The main instrument had grown to a 150 ft (46 m) antenna; construction of this commenced in 1964. The new telescope opened for operation in May 1966. The original surface of the 150 ft (46 m) telescope consisted of a mix of aluminum mesh and plates. The mesh was almost transparent to wavelengths less than around a centimeter, and the plated area was not smooth enough to focus shorter wavelengths either. As attention in radio telescopy turned to shorter wavelengths, representing higher energy events,

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2856-534: The main instrument has participated in an international collaboration to observe pulsars at long wavelengths with the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics . In April 2020, the recently refurbished original 33 foot antenna co-detected a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) from galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 as part of the CHIME collaboration. The discovery was reported in the journal Nature. The 46m telescope

2924-680: The majority of the NRC's intellectual property management, patenting, and business development activities conducted at the various NRC's research centres in Canada. The transformation of the NRC into a research and technology organization that focuses on "business-led research" was part of the Harper government's Economic Action Plan . On 7 May 2013, the NRC launched its new "business approach" in which it offered four business lines: strategic research and development, technical services, management of science and technology infrastructure and NRC-Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). With these services,

2992-534: The monitoring of Global Navigation System (GNS) spacecraft for guidance signal quality control and the downlink of data from interplanetary spacecraft. Since 2016, the antenna has been equipped with a digital radar system that provides Space Situational Awareness data on the location of geostationary spacecraft and debris larger than one square meter at ranges up to 50,000 km. National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada ( NRC ; French : Conseil national de recherches Canada )

3060-701: The newly created Atomic Energy of Canada Limited . Foreign signals intelligence gathering officially remained with the agency when, by Order in Council, the Examination Unit became the Communications Branch of the NRC in 1946. The CBNRC was transferred to the Department of National Defence in 1975, and renamed the Communications Security Establishment . During the 1950s, the medical research funding activities of

3128-599: The one at ARO, was later installed at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) in Penticton , British Columbia as a backup. Another solar instrument patterned on a different Goth Hill device followed, this one consisting of a series of thirty-two 10 ft (3 m) parabolic collectors connected to a common 700 ft (215 m) long waveguide . Using phased array techniques this instrument could image portions of

3196-439: The phase of the two signals in a common instrument. However this limited the distance between the two instruments, to the distance the signal could travel while still remaining in-phase. The NRC invented a new technique that eliminated the need to directly compare the signals in real-time. Their technique used 2 inch Quadruplex videotape to record the signals along with a clock signal from an atomic clock . The clock signal allowed

3264-539: The previous federal Minister of State (Science and Technology) , Gary Goodyear , the NRC became in the words of one wag a "toolbox for industry" and dented basic-research infrastructure. In August 2020 under Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains and President Iain Stewart, the NRC announced it was building the Biologics Manufacturing Centre , a facility that can produce vaccines and other biologics. The construction of

3332-575: The progress in development was at the cost of the environment. In 2012, the federal government moved "to defund government research centres in the High Arctic." In the same year National Research Council environmental scientists "were barred from discussing their work on snowfall with the media. "Scientists for the governmental agency Environment Canada, under threat of losing their jobs, were banned from discussing their research without political approval. Mentions of federal climate change research in

3400-545: The quasar, showing it was less than 100 light years across, about 1/1000 the span of the Milky Way . Further experiments revealed the fact that 3C 273 had a distinct "jet". In 1968 the 150 ft (46 m) telescope was used in a geodesy experiment that measured the distance between the ARO and space-tracking telescopes in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to 2143 km ± 20 m. Other early experiments included

3468-523: The roads were good quality and easy to travel, and there was a mainline railway that passed just south of the selected site. Algonquin Radio Observatory was inaugurated in 1959 and became Canada's national radio observatory in 1962. The observatory house complex, radiometer building, utility buildings, University of Toronto Laboratory, 10 m (33 ft) dish and parabolic microwave feed horn instruments were designed in 1959 and construction

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3536-410: The site has been operated by Thoth Technology Inc. Prior to the construction of the ARO, Arthur Covington had been running a solar observation program at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Ottawa Radio Field Station. The station was primarily a radar research site, and ongoing radar work interfered with the solar instrument Covington had built as a personal project. This had started with

3604-477: The site included a solar -observing array of thirty-two 10 ft (3 m) dishes, and a single 1.8 m solar flux monitor observing at 10.7 cm wavelength, and an 18 m radio telescope from the University of Toronto . In the late 1980s, as a part of an ongoing shift of operations from the NRC, operations of the ARO were passed to the Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science (ISTS, later renamed

3672-439: The tenure of Prime Minister Stephen Harper , Canadian Government research organizations began to restrict the ability of government scientists to communicate with the public. This includes restricting scientists within the NRC to communicate with the public through non-scientist communications personnel. Harper's focus as an economist was on his action plan: creating jobs and building the economy. There were widespread concerns that

3740-457: The two signals to be later compared with the same accuracy that had formerly required direct realtime connections. NRC funded the installation of identical instruments at the ARO and a smaller telescope at DRAO. Combining the signals would simulated a single 3,074 km diameter radio telescope. Having learned that the Americans were also attempting a similar VLBI experiment, they tried to be

3808-433: The wartime observation that the sun gave off radio signals in the 10 cm region when naval ships accidentally swung their radars past the Sun while it was rising or setting. As post-war researchers examined this effect, they discovered the signals were being generated by sunspots . As the value of the observations became evident, Covington's experimental instrument was moved about five miles (8 km) away to Goth Hill,

3876-495: Was appointed President of the NRC by the Stephen Harper Government Around June 2014, the NRC was reportedly penetrated by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. The tenure of John McDougall as President of the NRC (2010–2016) was marked by a number of controversies. His presidency was characterized by a dramatic drop in publications and patents, by significant cuts in scientific staff, and by

3944-539: Was appointed President of the NRC in 2010, was a member of the NRC-IRAP Advisory Board. In 2011, Bev Oda , the Minister of International Cooperation , and Gary Goodyear , Minister of State (Science and Technology) , announced the grant recipients. These included small to medium-sized businesses, such as, Nortek Solutions a privately owned Canadian software company. They received a $ 30,000 grant from

4012-412: Was built to be accurate to 1/5 of a centimeter, allowing it to accurately focus wavelengths to around 1.5 cm. Construction was completed in early 1966, and the telescope started operations in May 1966. Work was also completed a polar mounted paraboloid microwave horn and an 11 m equatorial mount dish north of the main antenna complex. One of the earliest extended projects carried out on the instrument

4080-462: Was completed in phases over the next several years. The first instrument on the site was a new solar telescope, similar to Covington's original 4 ft (1.2 m) instrument, but slightly enlarged to 6 ft (1.8 m) which allowed it to better observe the entire solar disk. This instrument operated in parallel to the original at Goth Hill until 1962, when it took over these duties completely. A second 6 ft (1.8 m) telescope, identical to

4148-419: Was experimentally arrayed with the 26-metre Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, British Columbia . In 1961, the site was selected by the National Research Council of Canada as suitable for the construction of a 120 ft (37 m) fully steerable antenna. By 1962, plans showed that the main instrument had grown to a 150 ft (46 m) antenna. Construction of

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4216-556: Was going on personal leave. During this time Maria Aubrey, Vice President of the NRC, filled the role as Acting President. Effective August 24, 2016, Iain Stewart became the new President of the NRC. The details regarding McDougall's personal leave were not publicly disclosed. Under Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan , the Trudeau government changed the focus of the NRC, to develop partnerships with private and public-sector technology companies, both nationally and internationally. Under

4284-479: Was introduced in the 1950s to support product developments in small to medium-sized businesses. The NRC provides grants and financial support to business' looking to bring new and innovative technologies to the market. Some of the many innovations by NRC personnel included the artificial pacemaker , development of canola (rapeseed) in the 1940s, the Crash Position Indicator in the 1950s, and

4352-556: Was invested for three years and became life, along with CIHR in 2000 (see CIHR Act). On 1 May 1978, with the rapid post-war growth of Canadian universities, the NRC's role in university research funding in the natural sciences was passed under the GOSA Act to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada . Under financial pressure in the 1980s, the federal government produced what popularly became known as

4420-429: Was operated for 48 hours per week until 2006 when one of the antenna's main azimuth load bearings failed. In 2007, Thoth Technology Inc. acquired operations of the facility from NRCan and undertook a four-year refurbishment of the antenna returning it to fully operational status by 2012. The telescope's current uses include performing VLBI experiments for the University of Toronto's Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics,

4488-604: Was shuffled to the troubled Public Health Agency of Canada , and in December 2020 Bains named Mitch Davies to fill the vacancy. In October 2021, Iain Stewart returned to his position as President of the National Research Council. In January 2024, Mitch Davies was appointed as President of the National Research Council following the retirement of Iain Stewart. Divisions of the NRC include: Areas of research and development at NRC include: At one point in January 2018

4556-606: Was slow, but the NRC has managed to regain its status as Canada's single most important scientific and engineering research institution among many other Canadian government scientific research organizations . As President of the National Research Council Canada, chemist Arthur Carty revitalized the organization. In 2004, he left the NRC when then prime minister Paul Martin appointed him as independent, non-partisan advisor on science and technology. In April 2010 Mr. John McDougal of Edmonton, Alberta

4624-402: Was the first successful very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment. Long Baseline Interferometry compares the signals from two or more telescopes, using the differences in phase between the signals to resolve the objects. Earlier experiments had used direct electrical links or microwave relays to extend the distance between the two telescopes, while still allowing real-time comparison of

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