text: OTTAWA - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, announced the reappointment of Dr. Howard Alper as Chair of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council.
  "Dr. Alper's leadership has contributed to the Council's success in providing sound advice to the government on science and technology-related matters, as seen in its State of the Nation report," said Minister Clement. "His dedication to this role complements our government's commitment to positioning Canada as a world-class leader in innovation."
  Dr. Alper has served as Chair of STIC since its inception in October 2007. The role of the Council is to provide the government with evidence-based policy advice on science and technology issues and to produce national reports measuring Canada's science and technology performance against international standards of excellence. The first of these reports, Canada's Science, Technology and Innovation System: State of the Nation 2008, was released in May 2009.
  Dr. Alper has received many notable honours and awards during his career, including the Alcan Award for Inorganic Chemistry (1986), the Bader Award for Organic Chemistry (1990) and the E.W.R. Steacie Award for Chemistry (1993), all from the Canadian Society for Chemistry. In 1997, the Chemical Institute of Canada presented Dr. Alper with the CIC Medal, its highest honour. He also received the Urgel-Archambault Prize in physical sciences and engineering from the Association francophone pour le savoir. In 2000, the Governor General of Canada presented him with the first Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal in Science and Engineering, the most prestigious such award in Canada. Dr. Alper is a member of the Science Advisory Committee of the World Economic Forum as well as IAP Co-Chair of the Global Network of Science Academies. Dr. Alper is also an Officer of the Order of Canada.