OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Suzanne Corbeil
Chair
Suzanne Corbeil launched Corbeil Consulting Inc. (CCI) in 2009 after a 40-year career in the public and not-for-profit sectors. She was the inaugural Executive Director of The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, where she established an effective organization and governance structure. Previously, she was Vice-President of External Relations and Communications at the Canada Foundation for Innovation, advancing the public science and technology agenda. Suzanne also founded the Science Media Centre of Canada and has served on several not-for-profit boards, including Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services and Laurentian University’s Board of Governors. Through CCI, she mentors and coaches individuals through career transitions. Suzanne holds degrees and diplomas from Laurentian University, McGill, and Cambrian College, and excels in human relations and interpersonal skills.
Haig Farris
Board Member
Dr. Haig Farris holds a B.A. from UBC, an LLB from the University of Pennsylvania, and an honorary doctorate from UBC. After practicing law, he co-founded financial consulting and venture capital firms, including Ventures West Management. Since 1990, as President of Fractal Capital, he has financed tech startups. He co-founded four UBC spin-outs, including D-Wave Systems. Dr. Farris was an Adjunct Professor at UBC, past President of the UBC Alumni Association, and serves on numerous science and tech boards. He co-founded Science World BC and was honored as a "Friend of Science World." He received the Vancouver Board of Trade's Pioneer of Innovation award and the Order of Canada. Dr. Farris has also contributed to the arts and civic politics, including producing Broadway shows and films.
Bernard Duncker
Board Member
Prof/Dr. Bernard Duncker carries out cancer-related research on yeast and is an expert on the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication and cell cycle checkpoints. His work on the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the proteins involved in controlling DNA replication has applications for developing biomarkers to detect the presence of environmental carcinogens, and cancer in humans. Professor Duncker is also studying how both yeast and various fish species regulate the production of certain proteins during cell cycle checkpoints, a series of decisions involved in cell proliferation which become flawed as cells turn cancerous. PhD Biology, Queen's University , 1995. University of Waterloo Outstanding Performance Award,2008 and 2013. 2005-2010 Ontario Early Researcher Award, 2003-2009 Canadian Cancer Society Research Scientist Award. Member of Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences.
Jennifer Flanagan
Board Member
For over 25 years, Jennifer Flanagan has been a leading force in transforming STEM education in Canada. As the Co-founder, President, and CEO of Actua, she has empowered hundreds of thousands of young minds, focusing on diversity and inclusion in technology and engineering. Under her leadership, Actua has raised tens of millions of dollars, engaging 375,000 youth annually through a network of over 40 universities and colleges. Her efforts target girls, Indigenous and Black youth, and those from rural and Arctic communities. Jennifer's work in technology equity and her entrepreneurial success have established her as a national thought leader. She also volunteers on numerous boards and advises startups focused on gender equity, innovation, and education.
Chris Houser
Board Member
Chris Houser is the Dean of Science at the University of Waterloo. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, he was Dean of Science at the University of Windsor (2016-2022) and Interim Vice President Research and Innovation (2022-2023). Houser joined the University of Windsor from Texas A&M University where he was the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Geosciences (2014-2016), and the inaugural Global Faculty Ambassador in the Office of the Provost (2011 to 2016).
Chris Houser is a coastal and aeolian geomorphologist. His research focuses on the response and recovery of coastal barriers to extreme storms, coastal erosion in the Great Lakes, the physical and social dimensions of beach safety, and the use of analytical reasoning, semantic modelling, and graph theory for landscape interpretation. His Coastal Research Group ([https://www.windsorcoastalgroup.ca/](https://www.windsorcoastalgroup.ca/)) also manages the COASTIE ([https://coastiecanada.ca/](https://coastiecanada.ca/)) citizen science science program in partnership with Parks Canada to monitor shoreline change in park managed areas across Canada.
Megan Lee
Board Member
Megan Lee is Managing Director of Calgary’s “Quantum City,” with nearly 20 years experience across the full spectrum of research, innovation and commercialization. She has a significant depth of experience in various organizations from operational leadership at a publicly traded biotech company, to the world’s top university-affiliated incubator to a large oncology research and care funder.
She is a recognized expert in conducting technical and business due diligence, start-up creation, strategy and management consulting, investment portfolio management and organization management of a growth stage biotech company, where she led the development of new pharmaceutical products and recorded multiple consecutive years of record turnover and profit. She has a MBA in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization and a PhD in Biochemistry.
Michele Mosca
Board Member
Michele Mosca earned a BMath from Waterloo in 1995, followed by an MSc and DPhil in quantum computer algorithms from Oxford. In 1999, he initiated Waterloo's quantum computing efforts, becoming a Full Professor in Combinatorics & Optimization, with cross-appointments in Computer Science and Physics. Mosca co-founded CryptoWorks21 and the Quantum Cryptography Summer School for Young Scientists at IQC.
He has significantly advanced quantum information processing, including quantum algorithms and quantum security. His work includes defining private quantum channels and optimizing quantum encryption methods. Mosca co-founded the ETSI-IQC workshop series in Quantum-Safe Cryptography and evolutionQ Inc. to secure systems against quantum threats.
His research is widely published, and he co-authored “An Introduction to Quantum Computing.” His accolades include Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Canada Research Chair, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Nigel Smith
Board Member
Dr. Nigel Smith became TRIUMF Executive Director and CEO in May 2021. Previously, he was Executive Director of SNOLAB and holds adjunct and visiting professorships at Queen's University and Imperial College, London. Smith leverages extensive leadership experience in developing science research facilities in the UK and Canada. He is a CIFAR Fellow, co-Chair of the IUPAP Neutrino Panel, and a member of various international advisory committees.
As a scientist, Smith's research spans astrophysics, underground science, and experimental physics. He led Dark Matter Research at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory for over a decade and has worked in underground labs in the UK and Canada. Smith holds a B.Sc. in physics and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Leeds University, focusing on VHE gamma-ray astronomy at the South Pole.
Chris Wilson
Board Member
Christopher Wilson joined the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) in 2012 as an Associate Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Currently, he is a cross-appointed professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
He received his BS in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1996. There he performed undergraduate research on the role of nonlinear dynamics in the nervous system. He received his PhD in Physics from Yale University in 2002. His dissertation focused on the development of single-photon spectrometers using superconducting tunnel junctions.
He then worked at Yale as the W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellow performing research on quantum computation and information processing using superconducting single-electronics. In 2004, he moved to Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, later becoming an Assistant Professor in 2007 and an Associate Professor in 2011. At the University of Waterloo, he plans to continue his work on quantum information, microwave quantum optics and nonlinear dynamics.
