The ISSP Blog

Writer in Residence, ISSP, uOttawa
Author and Performer

Originally published in the Globe and Mail on August 28, 2021

This summer on the first day of the workshop reading of my latest play, veteran Ottawa actor Paul Rainville asked me: How do I play a robot? He was referring to his character, Adam, the husband and father in The Anniversary. It’s a near-future tale about three adult children who return to the family home to celebrate their parent’s thirtieth anniversary. Key detail: Adam’s a robot.

Director, ISSP and Chair, Positive Energy
CEO, Nanos Research

Originally published in Maclean’s on August 18, 2021

It’s election season and the parties are jockeying to define the issues and terms of the debate. While the pandemic still dominates the headlines, new polling from the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program and Nanos Research suggests that a summer of wild weather may be pushing climate change back up Canadians’ priority list.

Senior Fellow, ISSP, uOttawa
Principal, Paulicyworks

With the 4th conference of the International Network of Government Science Advisors (INGSA) currently taking place in Montreal, it is worth recalling the earlier work of such structured, global science advisory gatherings.

Faculty Affiliate, ISSP, uOttawa
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York

Student, University of Ottawa health sciences program

Originally published by The Hill Times on August 11, 2021

To various extents, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the deterioration of the mental health of many people in Canada. However, certain groups have incurred more damage than others. Among them, refugees new to or in Canada have faced unique challenges during this time, according to existing research. Although certain resources exist to address the mental health needs of refugees, they face many barriers in accessing those services.

Core Member and Lead, Risk, Technology and Security Research Cluster, ISSP
Professor, School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, uOttawa

What these photos of Kabul airport demonstrate plainly now is that airports are crucibles of international politics, where security and rights are refracted through technologies, bureaucracies, policies, and sometimes sheer terror. The falling man of Kabul reminds us that the romance of the airport is over, but the politicization of the airport is all the more urgent.

Director, ISSP and Chair, Positive Energy

Originally published in Policy Options on August 11, 2021

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscores yet again the urgency to act, noting that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying. In Canada, there is far more consensus and support for taking action in business and society than there was even five years ago, and we have a comprehensive plan to reach our 2030 emissions reduction targets.

But will it be enough?

Past Fulbright Research Chair, ISSP, uOttawa
Professor of Computer Information Systems, Southern New Hampshire University

Faculty Affiliate, ISSP
Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, uOttawa

The Government of Canada established an Accessible Technology Program (2017 – 2022) to foster inclusive participation of Canadians with disabilities in the digital economy, aiming to allow Canadians with disabilities to obtain better access to digital services and increase their participation in the digital economy.

Senior Fellow and former Fulbright Research Chair in Science and Society, ISSP, uOttawa
President Emeritus of theCenter for Policy on Emerging Technologies, Washington, DC

A pandemic seems a simple enough problem. Long before vaccines, before germ theory, we had quarantines, social distancing, even masks. Stay apart and the virus will stop hopping around onto new victims. Yet the complexity of our modern societies has made handling such a situation as unsimple as it gets.

Faculty Affiliate, ISSP
Full Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Enginnering, Faculty of Enginnering, uOttawa

Carbon Capture and Thermal Energy Storage technologies using “Adsorption Processes” have very important roles to play to mitigate the effects of climate change. In this blog, I am going to summarize how we can use these technologies and how they would help.

Managing Director, Synergy Technology Management
Chair, Foresight Synergy Network hosted by Telfer School of Management, uOttawa 

Geopolitics has traditionally been framed against diverse elites with vested interests competing for control of geographyand natural resources.  This has been the case for thousands of years, from the days of the earliest empires to the nation and city-states of today. However, geopolitics is now taking on a new dimension, one defined by an emerging competition among states and elements of their corporate sectors to control and use massive amounts of data about people, places and things.