Physical AI, Quantum, and Bio-Innovation: Inside Canada’s Research Frontier

Canada produces world-leading science, engineering, and AI research. So why does so much of that research still commercialize outside of Canada? In this episode of TechSurge, host Nic Brathwaite puts that question to four leaders at two of Canada's top research universities: Mary Wells (Dean of Engineering) and Chris Houser (Dean of Science) at the University of Waterloo, and Heather Sheardown (Dean of Engineering) and Gianni Parise (VP Research) at McMaster. At Waterloo, Mary Wells traces how the university's origin produced one of the world's most influential co-op programs and a creator-owned IP policy that lets inventors keep their ideas, making the school a talent engine for global tech. The group digs into Canada's AI paradox, foundational research and talent but far less of the economic value, and what quantum, robotics, and advanced manufacturing show about getting research to market. McMaster runs a different model, built on health sciences, nuclear research, and problem-based learning. Heather Sheardown explains the McMaster Method and why it matters in an AI-shaped future. Gianni Parise argues for commercialization as a core university function, with work spanning AI-assisted drug discovery, inhaled vaccines, critical-mineral-free motors, and a campus nuclear reactor that supplies much of the world's iodine-125 for prostate cancer treatment. They also unpack Fusion Pharmaceuticals, the McMaster spin-out acquired by AstraZeneca, and what it reveals about university commercialization. Together, these conversations ask what universities must become in an era defined by AI, deep tech, national competitiveness, and the urgent need to move ideas from the lab into the world.Sign up for our newsletter at techsurgepodcast.com for updates on upcoming TechSurge Live Summits and future episodes.Speaker Profiles and LinksMary Wells - University of Waterloo Profile: https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/about/dean-engineerinChris Houser - University of Waterloo profile: https://uwaterloo.ca/earth-environmental-sciences/profile/chouserHeather Sheardown - McMaster Engineering profile: https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/chemeng/faculty/dr-heather-sheardown/Gianni Parise - McMaster Experts Profile: https://experts.mcmaster.ca/people/parisegChapters: 0:00 Highlights 0:56 Welcome  2:39 Waterloo’s origin story  4:51 Creator-owned IP and the Waterloo model  7:42 The Co-op Flywheel  8:56 Canada’s AI paradox: world-class research, slower domestic value capture  10:21 AI, Regulation, Trust, and Canadian Competitiveness  17:09 Rethinking the PhD for Commercialisation  21:43 Inside Waterloo’s labs  30:14 What Waterloo wants to be in ten years: builders of the country  32:39 Meet McMaster: health sciences, nuclear capability, and research intensity  34:12 The McMaster Method  35:11 Research, Health, and Commercialisation  40:45 McMaster Labs: Heat, Motors and Health Innovation  47:13 Bioinnovation, Nuclear Research and Fusion Pharmaceuticals  58:43 The university of 2035: less lecture, deeper societal impact  References Mentioned and Further ReadingUniversity of Waterloo Policy 73 - Intellectual Property Rights: https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policies/policy-73-intellectual-property-rightsUniversity of Waterloo - Our IP policy: https://uwaterloo.ca/entrepreneurship/our-ip-policyUniversity of Waterloo Co-op programs: https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/co-opUniversity of Waterloo - Academy of Research Commercialization: https://uwaterloo.ca/conrad-school-entrepreneurship-business/graduate-students/academy-research-commercialization-arcOpen Quantum Design: https://openquantumdesign.org/Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo: https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/CIFAR - Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy: https://cifar.ca/ai/Government of Canada / ISED - Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/pan-canadian-artificial-intelligence-strategyStatistics Canada - Understanding Canada’s innovation paradox: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2024007/article/00002-eng.htmCouncil of Canadian Academies - Innovation and Business Strategy: Why Canada Falls Short: https://cca-reports.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2009-06-11-innovation-report-1.pdfKPMG / University of Melbourne - Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/ca/pdf/2025/07/trust-in-ai-en-report.pdfMcMaster - Our approach to teaching and learning / Problem-Based Learning: https://provost.mcmaster.ca/teaching-learning/our-approach/McMaster - Evidence-based medicine: https://fhshrwelcome.mcmaster.ca/did_you_know/evidence-based-medicine/McMaster Nuclear Reactor - Medical Isotopes: https://nuclear.mcmaster.ca/medical-isotopes/McMaster Industry Liaison Office - IP and commercialization FAQ: https://research.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-industry-liaison-office-milo/ip-education/intellectual-property-guides/faqs/McMaster - AstraZeneca to acquire McMaster-supported Fusion Pharmaceuticals: https://news.mcmaster.ca/astrazeneca-to-acquire-mcmaster-supported-fusion-pharmaceuticals/Fusion Pharmaceuticals - FACIT investment and CPDC spin-out background: https://fusionpharma.com/facit-announces-investment-in-fusion-pharmaceuticals-and-alpha-emitting-radiotherapeutics/PubMed - Evidence-based medicine and problem-based learning at McMaster: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617018/ScienceDirect - Fifty Years on: The first problem-based learning programme at McMaster: