Ghorbani Named Canada Research Chair

Ali Ghorbani, dean of computer science at the University of New Brunswick, has been named Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity. As well as his academic achievements, Ghorbani is a Co-Founder of the Fredericton-based startups Sentrant and EyesOver.

“I’m incredibly excited by the opportunity this Canada Research Chair presents, and grateful for the federal investment and recognition,”  Ghorbani said in a statement. “This will allow me to expand my research program, attract more graduate students and research associates, and increase R&D collaborations with the cybersecurity industry.”

Tier 1 Canada Research Chairs are world-leading researchers, recognized by their peers for their innovative work. UNB will receive $200,000 in annual funding for each of the seven years of Ghorbani’s term.

Ghorbani’s research focuses on cybersecurity solutions in a rapidly evolving, data-intensive world. He’s developing techniques and tools to identify cyberthreats and cybercriminal activity before they’re able to cause harm.

In his 35 years in academia, Ghorbani has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and supervised over 160 research associates, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students. He is co-inventor of three awarded patents in the area of network security and web intelligence and he has obtained more than $6 million to fund five large multi-project research initiatives since 2010.

McCrae, Sturgeon No Longer With Propel

Gillian McCrae and Al Sturgeon are no longer with the regional accelerator Propel ICT.

The organization last week announced that it was bringing on two new entrepreneurs in residence – Charlotte Rydlund in Halifax and Richard Jones in Fredericton.

Since then, people familiar with the matter have confirmed a report in Allnovascotia.com that McCrae and Sturgeon are no longer with Propel.

Sturgeon, who was an entrepreneur-in-residence based in Fredericton, is leaving to launch his own startup.  He was part of the Radian6 crew that joined Salesforce when the tech giant bought the Fredericton company.

McCrae, who was a Vice-President based in Halifax, was the Founder of GetGifted, a P.E.I. startup that helped local merchants reward their customers.

Neither McCrae, Sturgeon or officials from Propel would comment on the matter.

ACOA Lends WoodsCamp $250,000

Mahone Bay-based WoodsCamp Technologies Inc. has borrowed $250,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency through the Business Development Program.

WoodsCamp is an online marketplace that helps private woodlot owners understand the value of the trees on their land to improve their profit from responsible forestry. The company is now building up its list of Nova Scotian woodlot owners who are interested in using the service.

Founders Alastair Jarvis and Will Martin have said they’ve been in talks with Innovcorp about a funding deal, and the company last year received a $50,000 grant from ACOA.

Jarvis and Martin aim to build WoodsCamp into the world’s leading manager of timber and believes that the management of woodlands is the most urgent and overlooked environmental issue of our time.

“The forests my children and grandchildren will walk in depend on our ability to build a healthy and sustainable ecosystem that increases the health and wealth of our forests and all who rely on them,” Jarvis said in a press release.

“With the government’s support, we’re integrating innovations from around the world, and, from our own comparative advantage, are building innovative new technology that will scale out to regions of the United States and Europe where the forest is also primarily in private ownership.”