First World War field nurses, faced with uncertain laundry facilities, frequent travel and an abundance of manufactured surgical dressings, are said to have popularized the use of disposable sanitary napkins. Kotex, the first company to widely advertise its sanitary products in ladies’ magazines and newspapers, in 1920, credited Nursing Sisters with the idea. Previous attempts to sell disposable pads by other companies had largely failed, probably because they were marketed mainly through

Lorne Tyrrell and Morris Robins, University of Alberta researchers, discovered potent hepatitis B antiviral agents. Their discovery led to one of Canada’s largest university/industry research collaborations in the 1990s, that in turn lead to the development of the world’s first oral hepatitis antiviral (called Lamivudine) in 1998. Today, Lamivudine is used in over 200 countries to treat chronic hepatitis B. It has slowed or prevented death for millions, and helped lessen fatal effects of liver

Canadian-made AquaResponse Water Purification Systems are mobile point of source water purification units that are specifically designed for emergency situations. They have the capacity to provide entire communities with purified drinking water, in the most inaccessible and remote locations. The units are highly mobile and can be adapted to work with virtually any water system. As a result, they can be installed and relocated as needs change during an emergency. AquaResponse systems are easy to

Atomic physics, radar, and radio technology … and music Hugh Le Caine’s electronic Sackbut was the first synthesizer, a type of musical instrument that gave 1970s pop music its distinctively electronic sound. Le Caine, a trained musician, was a physicist at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and began work on the Sackbut in 1945. Borrowing from atomic physics, radar, and radio technology, Le Caine innovated techniques in voltage control to generate wave forms and enrich their

“Innovation means to me doing something that you thought of yourself. And in my case, it doesn’t have to be technical because you can do innovation in a number of areas. And most of my innovations were done in how to motivate and treat people.” A discussion on innovation with Ken Spencer.

“Follow your passions and choose something that makes your soul alive, because then you’re not going to work very hard, you’re going to enjoy every moment of it.” A discussion on innovation with Alexandra Greenhill.

“Innovation is the ultimate form of art and rebellion.” A discussion on innovation with Allen Devine.

“Innovation means developing a really good idea and turning it into a product that can help people.” A discussion on innovation with Andrew Eaves.

“To me, innovation is taking a creative idea and applying it to something.” A discussion on innovation with Terry Thomas.

“When people invent new ideas, it’s usually against what the experts of the day say is the way things should be done. So I look for people whose ideas, basically, are challenging what is the norm.” A discussion on innovation with Haig Ferris.