Thomas Anthony Brzustowski, O.C., Ph.D., P.Eng.

RBC Professor, Commercialization of Innovations, School of Management at the University of Ottawa Senior Advisor and Chair of the Board, Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo Former President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Resea

Through his inspirational leadership and devotion in the public sector, Tom Brzustowski has made significant and lasting contributions to research and development in Canadian engineering.

For 10 years from 1995, Dr. Brzustowski facilitated progress in the teaching and relevance of graduate engineering education and scholarship as president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada’s largest federal granting council. In his two terms at the helm, Dr. Brzustowski oversaw the expansion of research chairs to include Chairs in Design Engineering, the creation of the Canadian Design Engineering Network, and the introduction of new programs to foster collaboration between industry and academe.

His tenure at NSERC was preceded by eight years in the provincial public service as deputy minister from 1987 to 1995, first in the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, and later in the Premier’s Council.

All this was after a 25-year career at the University of Waterloo, where he was one of the pioneering engineering professors, having joined the faculty only five years after its founding. During his years at Waterloo, he chaired the department of Mechanical Engineering, and eventually became Vice-President, Academic and Provost of the university, the office he held for 12 years.

Recognized as a dedicated educator and researcher, Tom Brzustowski is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and of the Royal Society of Canada.

Retiring from NSERC in 2005, Brzustowski has reinvented himself as a professor of management to carry out new research on innovation and creating sustainable prosperity for Canada, and serves as the RBC Professor in the Commercialization of Innovations in the School of Management at the University of Ottawa. He is also connected to leading-edge scientific research with potential enormous downstream benefits as Senior Advisor and Chair of the Board at the recently formed Institute of Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo.