S.05-66
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
. ?
Senate Committee on University Priorities
Memorandum
TO:
Senate ?
FROM: ?
John Waterhou
Chair, SCUP
Vice President,
re-
RE:
4D Labs
?
DATE: ?
April 11,200
(SCUP 05-027)
Attached is the proposal for the establishment of the 4D Labs submitted for
consideration by Dr. Ross Hill, Department of Chemistry. This will be a Schedule B
Centre reporting to the Vice-President, Research in accordance with Policy R 40.01.
The Senate Committee on University Priorities reviewed the proposal at its March 23,
2005 meeting. With minor edits which have now been incorporated into the document,
the proposal was unanimously approved. Once approved by Senate, the proposal will
be submitted to the Board of Governors.
Motion:
• ?
That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the establishment
of the 4D Labs as a Schedule B Centre under Policy R40.01.
Attach.
c. M.Pinto
M. Plischke
R. Hill
G. Nicholls
ki
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SOUP 05-027
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH ?
Memorandum
TO: Glynn Nicholls, Secretary ?
FROM: B. Mario Pinto
Senate Committee on University ?
Vice-President, Research
Planning (SCUP)
RE:
4D LABS ?
DATE: ?
March 17, 2005
Attached is a proposal from Dr. Ross Hill of 4D LABS for the establishment of 4D LABS as a
Schedule B Centre.
The Governing Committee for Centres and Institutes recommends that the Centre be granted
approval by SCUP. Once approved by SCUP, the proposal is to be forwarded to Senate,
followed by submission to the Board of Governors.
Governing Committee:
• /'7
(John Waterhouse
ice-President, Academic and Provost
Dr. B. Mario Pinto
Vice-President, Research
Attachment
Cc:
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Dr. Michael Plischke, Dean of Science
Dr. Ross Hill, Executive Director, 4D LABS
•
7.
c
4D
LABS
SIMON FRASER,
Real
UNIVERSITY
Application for University Centre Status
Canadian entrepreneurs have made great strides in building the innovative, technology-
enabled economy needed to succeed in the years ahead The Government of Canada has
helped lay the foundation for even greater success with very substantial investments in
basic research - $13 billion since 1997.
These investments are ensuring a continued j7ow of basic knowledge and highly trained
people on which our future economic success depends.
Now we must do much more to ensure that our knowledge investment is converted to
commercial success. We need to do more to get our ideas and innovations out of our
minds and into the marketplace.
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- Speech from the Throne ('February 2, 2004)
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I. Statement of Special Purpose
4D LABS, formerly known as the Centre for Research in Electronic Materials (CREM), was
formed to accelerate the commercialization of university research in the areas of advanced
materials and nano-scale devices. At 4D LABS, a multidisciplinary team of leading researchers
will work to design, develop and demonstrate prototype devices that can lead to major advances
in information and health technologies.
Background
Canadian universities have been recognized for their success in generating basic knowledge and
creating the next generation of highly qualified people. This is because they provide a creative
environment in which researchers are free to explore new and potentially disruptive ideas, and
students have the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience using state-of-the-art
equipment.
After investing $13 billion into fundamental research since 1997, the Government of Canada is
searching for unique ideas and opportunities to move these innovations into the marketplace
2.
. without jeopardizing the benefits inherent to the university environment. In a November 9, 2004
speech delivered at a Research Money conference entitled
Commercialization, What's Working
and What's Not,
Dr. Arthur Carty, National Science Advisor to the Prime Minister said, "It is
absolutely critical that Canada have the capacity to not only perform leading-edge R&D; but a
world-class system for getting the ideas and discoveries to market - in other words reaping
commercial value from this R&D."
At the same time, there is a movement among the British Columbia business community to
create the BC Nanotechnology Alliance. While this organization is in its early stages of
development, it is seeking funding to create a centre that links all of the nanoscience research in
the province with the ultimate goal of attracting talent, investment and building new companies.
These initiatives at both the federal and provincial level create an environment in which 4D
LABS will thrive and help to position SFU as Canada's most research-intensive comprehensive
university.
4D LABS differs from other university research centres in its approach to choosing research
projects and building teams. Rather than creating departments or networks of researchers with
similar interests, 4D LABS starts by identifying technologies that require significant advances in
basic science to become commercially viable. Then, 4D LABS defines multidisciplinary projects
• - and recruits teams of international experts with the. requisite skills and knowledge. Projects are
currently underway in molecular electronics, photonics and magnonics, and 4D LABS plans to
work with industry partners to identify new opportunities for commercializable research projects.
4D LABS (as CREM) has already gained support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation
(CFI). and expects to have additional support. from the British Columbia Knowledge.
Development Fund to create a new, state-of-the-art facility for these research activities. The
evaluation committee for CFI noted, as an example, that, "the work in molecular electronics
which, if realized, will fundamentally transform the nature of electronics and will push Canadian
companies to the fore: this difficult area of research is already attracting the interest of the very
largest global electronics companies. This research team is at the very leading edge of research
internationally and with this infrastructure will undoubtedly have the tools and skills to make
significant breakthroughs."
4D LABS integrates an international research team of chemists, physicists and engineers with
expertise in nanomaterials engineering and devices. This team is united in its intent to lead the
transformation from traditional electronic information processing systems to new technology
platforms. Each member of the team has been internationally recognized and has a proven track
record. Team specializations include functional molecules, functional solid state materials,
surface chemistry and modification, electrochemistry, fabrication methods, lithography,
polymers, biomaterials, materials characterization, theoretical chemistry and physics
3.
4D LABS will be operating in full force when the new facility is completed in September 2006.
The facility will allow the team to exploit traditional clean-room technologies and infrastructure
developed for semiconductor device fabrication and testing and apply them to novel nano-scale
devices. The facility will include a fully equipped clean room specialized for nanometer device
fabrication, a molecular-beam epitaxy growth facility and a photoelectron spectroscopy lab.
The unique clean room will allow for the development of novel processing chemistry that is
incompatible with semi-conductor processing that takes place in other clean-rooms at SFU or
elsewhere. It will house systems for deposition (sputter), lithography (both and E-beam writer
and a mask aligner), processing (including etchers and a rapid thermal processor) and
characterization (ellipsometer, optical microscope, profilometer).
4D LABS' Visiting Scientists' Laboratory will provide space for collaborators to conduct
experiments that will prepare samples for fabrication and characterization in the 4D LABS clean
room. The CFI evaluation team recognized the importance of this visitor's centre. "...as this will
be the leading centre in the world it will attracted the best collaborators and the MAC is keen to
ensure that this process is facilitated." International collaboration is key to ensuring that
Canadian researchers play an integral role in the early stages of a highly competitive, fast-paced
area for research and development. The Visiting Scientists' Laboratory will facilitate knowledge
transfer from international experts to the 4D LABS.
With an innovative approach to research in a growing, high-priority area, internationally-
recognized talent and access to a new state-of-the-art facility, 4D LABS will provide tremendous
value to the university. 4D LABS will provide:
• a demonstration of SFU's commitment to Government of Canada priorities;
• a connection to the local business community by acting as a major node of activity for the
BC Nanotechnology Alliance;
• international profile; and
• potential revenue streams from significant technology breakthroughs.
II. Provision for the Appointment of a Director
Dr. Ross Hill, project leader for the CFI proposal that resulted in the creation of 4D LABS, will
serve as Executive Director. He will report to the university through the appropriate
Administrative Director according to the University Policy Policy (R 40.01) set forward for
University Centres and Institutes.
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III. Identification of the Applicable Schedule
4D LABS will have access to Visiting Scientists' Laboratory to attract the best collaborators
from around the world. 4D LABS Principal User group (as defined in the CFI proposal) already
extends outside Simon Fraser University and includes participants from University of British
Columbia (Mike Wolf), University of Western Ontario (Mark Workentin) and the United States
(Mike Scheinfein and Larry Dalton). Other users identified in the CFI proposal are from
University of Alberta, Queens University, Korea and South America. 4D LABS also has
collaborative links internationally that include Stanford and Cambridge University as well as
Korea National Labs.
Within Simon Fraser University, the group currently includes faculty from the chemistry and
physics departments, with plans to expand this to molecular biology and biochemistry and
applied science.
Given the international scope of the research that will be conducted by 4D LABS, Schedule B is
the most appropriate for ongoing activities, with the 4D LABS Administrative Director being
SFU's Vice President of Research.
IV.
Statement that Recognizes the Centre's Obligation to Conduct its
Activities in Accordance with University Policies
4D LABS recognizes its obligation to conduct is activities in accordance with university policies.
V. Budget implications / Library needs
Ongoing funding development / Minimal
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VI. Statement of Internal Governing Procedure
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Dr. Ross Hill, the project leader for the CFI proposal that resulted in the creation of 4D LABS,
will serve as Executive Director of 4D LABS.
The Executive Director will report to SFU's Vice President of Research as Administrative
Director. This will ensure that 4D LABS operates within the guidelines of the University. The
Administrative Director will report to the University's Governing Committee for Centres.
The Executive Director has appointed three Directors of research specific areas: Dr. Neil Branda,
Director of Molecular Systems; Dr. Gary Leach, Director of Photonic Systems and Dr. Zuo-
Guang Ye, Director of Solid State Systems as well as one Senior Science Advisor, Dr. Michael
Scheinfein, Senior Science Advisor for Magnetic Systems. This team will work together to
develop projects and then, using their research area-specific networks, build international teams
of leading researchers to execute the projects.
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