The centre came into being last April when funding from the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la nature et les technologies, under the agency's program to develop strategic alliances, allowed Polytechnique's Centre de recherche appliquée sur les polymères (Centre for Applied Research on Polymers -- CRASP) to broaden its expertise. The Fonds has invested a total of $2.5 million over a six-year period in CREPEC.

CREPEC's mission is to design, understand and optimize polymer-forming processes without losing sight of end-use applications. The centre's laboratories are equipped to undertake every stage in the development of new polymer materials, from test tube to industrial production via the various pilot processes. Bringing together researchers from many different universities, CREPEC unites top-notch expertise and experience with exceptional technical means. Students participate in the research and receive solid training enabling them to meet the challenges of the plastics and composites industry head-on.

"CREPEC has acquired internationally recognized expertise in the development, characterization and forming of multiphase systems such as continuous-fibre composites and polymer blends," says Pierre J. Carreau, the centre's director and full professor with the Department of Chemical Engineering at École Polytechnique. "An important component of CREPEC's research has benefited from powerful computing capabilities, allowing us to model complex flows in polymer forming processes."

Directed by Professor Pierre J. Carreau, CREPEC brings together some 40 professors and researchers from École Polytechnique, École de technologie supérieure, participating universities Concordia, Laval, McGill and Sherbrooke, the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Materials Institute (IMI), and Cégep de St-Jérôme. In Québec, CREPEC includes two Tier-1 Canada Research chairs, two Tier-2 chairs, two industrial chairs and two university research chairs.

"The creation in 2004 of six new research centres in high-tech sectors, of which CREPEC is one example, bears out the extraordinary research force that has emerged in Québec since 2001," said Sylvie Dillard, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la nature et les technologies, at the inauguration of CREPEC. "At present, the 33 centres and affiliates of the Fonds bring together nearly 1,000 top-notch university researchers and some 4,800 students. This attests to the dynamism of current research in engineering and the natural sciences, and indicates its potential for development in Québec."

The Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies is a public agency responsible for promoting and financing research, education, and researcher training, principally in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

Founded in 1974, École de technologie supérieure (ETS), affiliated with Université du Québec, specializes in applied engineering and technology and specifically directs its activities towards co-op education.

Founded in 1974, Concordia University is proud of its tradition of accessibility and concern for the individual. It values inter-disciplinary approaches to learning, and is dedicated to offering the best possible scholarship, research and training for the real world.

At the turn of the millennium, Université Laval celebrated 340 years as a major French-speaking university that has played a pivotal role in the development of Canada and Québec and enjoys a solid international reputation today.

Founded in 1821, McGill University is mandated to carry out scholarly activities judged to be excellent when measured against the highest international standards, and to serve society in those ways for which it is best suited by virtue of its academic strengths.

Université de Sherbrooke was the first francophone university (and the second university in Canada) to adopt a cooperative education program, and it is today considered a leader in this teaching method.

The IMI has built a solid international reputation as an R & D leader in the field of materials manufacturing, serving Canadian industry.

Founded in 1970, Cégep de Saint-Jérôme is an institution of higher learning offering complete pre-university training programs along with several technical programs.

Founded in 1873, École Polytechnique de Montréal is one of Canada's leading engineering institutions, in terms of both teaching and research. It is the largest engineering school in Québec as far as its student population and the scope of its research activity are concerned.

General information:
Diane Héroux
Secretary, CREPEC
École Polytechnique de Montréal
Tel.: (514) 340-4711, ext. 4629
Fax: (514) 340-2994
E-mail: diane.heroux@polymtl.ca

Scientific information:
Pierre J. Carreau
Director, CREPEC
École Polytechnique de Montréal
Tel. : (514) 340-4711, ext. 4924
Fax: (514) 340-2994
E-mail: pierre.carreau@polymtl.ca

Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies:
Carole Laurin
Communications manager
Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature
et les technologies
Tel.: (418) 643-3342
E-mail: carole.laurin@fqrnt.gouv.qc.ca