"Today, we are taking the first step toward the university of tomorrow, toward a future predicated on research and knowledge," said Robert Lacroix, Rector of the Université de Montréal. "It has already been acknowledged that the investments made in the new building, along with the major research funding it will receive, will add to the already considerable impact that the university's activities have on Montreal's socioeconomic life," he added.

"The building, whose location on campus reflects its association with both of our institutions, will bring together research teams of chemists, engineers and physicists to work on common projects in five cutting-edge sectors: nanotechnologies and nanosciences, biotechnologies, aeronautics, aerospace and new materials. The complexity of these new research fields requires a multidisciplinary approach, and this was what we had in mind when we designed this new pavilion," said Robert L. Papineau, Director General of École Polytechnique de Montréal.

Research at the forefront
The pavilion will be dedicated to fundamental and applied research and to training graduate and post-graduate students. It represents total investments of $60.5 million by the Université de Montréal, École Polytechnique, the government of Quebec, the government of Canada, private donors including the J.-Armand-Bombardier Foundation and a number of other sources. It will house researchers and students who will study new issues arising from an increasingly complex world. 
 
Scientific equipment valued at about $150 million has already been installed in the
J.-Armand-Bombardier Pavilion. Funding for the nanotechnology laboratories was provided by two major grants earmarked for projects directly related to this field of research.

A $20.4 million investment will be made in manufacturing and characterizing nanomaterials and nanostructures for applications in electronics, energy conversion, and sensors and actuators. A sizeable investment was also made to build a concrete anti-vibration block for particularly sensitive experiments. During the building of this structure, the only one of its kind in Canada, concrete was poured non-stop for an entire week.

There is also a $15 million research project in combinatory chemistry. This science envisions various possibilities for the organization of atoms before the producing materials on a nanometric scale.

Nanopharmaceuticals will be an important research activity that will focus on projects to develop drugs that are better targeted than is currently possible, which will help alleviate undesirable side effects. The metabolic engineering facility will conduct research into biotechnologies.

Lastly, true to its name, the J.-Armand-Bombardier Pavilion will house an aeronautics and aerospace research team, which will benefit from the proximity of the NRC's new aerospace manufacturing technology centre.

Given that highly exacting research will be conducted in the building, researchers will be working in white rooms with very low dust levels. The new pavilion will also be connected to the new Altix 3700 computer recently acquired by the University. High-performance calculations are crucial to success in this high-tech realm.

A pre-incubator for new companies
A portion of the first floor of the J.-Armand-Bombardier Pavilion will serve as a pre-incubator. Space adjacent to the laboratories built on the concrete anti-vibration block will house seven to eight emerging companies at a time. For one to three years, these companies will be able to develop their technologies with support from the resources available in the building. All players in the nanotechnology sector, in which fundamental and applied research are very closely related, will be represented there.

"Maison dans le pavillon"
Along with the inauguration, the "Maison dans le pavillon" project will also be launched. It will serve as a place for reflection, discussion and research on the role that new technological developments play in science and engineering education and training. Located inside the J.-Armand-Bombardier Pavilion, the "Maison dans le pavillon" will receive financial support from the J.A. DeSève and Université de Montréal foundations. École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal are committed to creating three chairs to carry out this new entity's mission.

About 700 professors, students and researchers will work side by side every day in this state-of-the-art pavilion.

Founded in 1873, École Polytechnique de Montréal is one of Canada's top engineering teaching and research institutions and first in Quebec for the size of its student body and the scope of its research activities. Polytechnique offers courses and programs in 11 engineering specialties and conducts nearly one-quarter of university engineering research in Quebec. It has 220 professors, nearly 6,000 students and an annual budget of $72 million, in addition to an annual research and infrastructure fund of $50 million. Polytechnique is affiliated with the Université de Montréal.

Information :
École Polytechnique de Montréal
Chantal Cantin, Director
Communications and Public Relations Department
 (514) 340-4711, ext. 4970

Pavilion Fact sheet :
http://www.polymtl.ca/salle-de-presse/doc/documents/Fichetechnique_V2_A.pdf