UW scientist/VP university relations to head Asian institute
John Morris
News Bureau
-- For immediate release
UW scientist and VP, university relations, to head Asian institute
WATERLOO, Ont. -- A senior University of Waterloo scientist, Roger
Downer, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the
Asian Institute of Technology, based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Roger Downer, currently UW's vice-president, university relations,
will assume his new position Aug. 1, 1996. The Asian Institute of
Technology is a non-profit organization funded by 20 countries, including
Canada, as well as by several international and private sector agencies.
The institute, with 1,000 staff, seeks to guide sustainable
development in emerging economies by providing technology and advanced
training. Its graduate school has about 1,200 students.
"Although I regret leaving Waterloo, a university that I hold in
high regard, I am excited by the opportunity to participate in and
contribute to the economic growth and development of many Asian
countries," Downer said.
A professor of biology and chemistry at UW since 1969, Downer is a
recipient of the university's Distinguished Teacher Award. He is among the
340 UW employees taking early retirement this year, as part of a major
cost-cutting plan prompted by a 15-per-cent cutback in provincial
government grants.
Downer was appointed vice-president, university relations, in
September 1989, overseeing the departments of development, alumni affairs,
and information and public affairs. He spearheaded the university's
successful Campaign Waterloo fund-raising drive, which generated in excess
of $90 million to support teaching and research.
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Downer, 53, graduated from
Queen's University in Belfast, with a bachelor of science in 1964 and a
master of science in 1967. In Canada, he earned a PhD at the University of
Western Ontario in 1970.
In 1984, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science from
Queen's University, Belfast, in recognition of his contributions to
biological research. Downer's research interests take in insect physiology
and biochemistry, neurochemistry, as well as the discovery of
insecticides.
A strong advocate of the importance to Canada's economy of pure,
basic research conducted at universities, Downer is the author/co-author
of four books and over 160 research publications. A Fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada, he has received gold medals from the Entomological
Society of Canada and the Canadian Society of Zoologists.
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Contact: Roger Downer, (519) 888-4500
From John Morris, UW News Bureau, 888-4567, ext. 6047
E-mail: jmo...@nh3adm.uwaterloo.ca
Homepage: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infoipa/release.html
Release no. 13 -- January 26, 1995