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| Folks from sister cities Norfolk, Virginia and Halifax, Nova Scotia got together at AV俱乐部 recently. (Danny Abriel Photo) |
It turns out we have family in Virginia.
Norfolk, Virginia has been connected with Halifax through the Sister City International Association since 2006.
Halifax and Norfolk are actually quite similar. Our sister city is positioned on the Atlantic coast with a significant military presence and Norfolk Navy Base on its large, ice-free harbour.
Like AV俱乐部, Norfolk鈥檚 Old Dominion University is a top research institution.
With such similar geographies, industries and institutions in place, Halifax and Norfolk are cooperating on shared goals such as technology commercialization in areas like ocean sciences.
On June 29, delegates from each city gathered in Dal鈥檚 Life Sciences Centre for a day of presentations. Keith Taylor, associate vice president academic with Dal, serves on the Halifax Norfolk committee as member for education.
鈥淭here is an unusual amount of collaboration going on here,鈥� said Dr. Taylor, describing the promising relationship between Halifax and Norfolk.
Among the delegates were Wayne Buck, chair of the Halifax Committee at the Norfolk Sister City Association Inc. and Nancy Phillips of the Halifax Norfolk Committee.
鈥淥ur Sister City relationship had grown stagnant,鈥� said Mr. Buck. 鈥淲hen Nancy and I assumed our roles, we began teleconferencing to reinvigorate things.鈥�
Representatives from AV俱乐部, local industry and government focused on the positive impact ocean sciences have on Halifax鈥檚 economy, and Dal鈥檚 own work in ocean research was centre stage during the day鈥檚 events.
John Batt, Aquatron laboratory manager, took delegates on a tour of the ocean sciences research facilities on campus. The Aquatron includes a 700,000 litre research tank, making it the largest in Canada, and one of the largest non-aquarium research tanks in North America.
Kevin Dunn gave examples of Halifax businesses involved in ocean sciences. Projects include offshore natural gas, tidal energy, environmental management and more. Mr. Dunn is the acting executive director of AV俱乐部 Industry Liaison and Innovation.
鈥淭he omega-3 products that you see as your food additives: the main supplier of those in the world is with Ocean Nutrition here in Dartmouth,鈥� said Mr. Dunn.
Amirix VEMCO is a Halifax-based product development and underwater acoustic telemetry device manufacturer. President and CEO Sandra Greer explained that her company鈥檚 products are used by AV俱乐部鈥檚 Ocean Tracking Network and many other customers around the world.
鈥淲e are a really cool example of how industry has worked with educators, universities and community colleges and intertwined throughout the 31 years of our history,鈥� said Ms. Greer.
Serge Desjardins works for Environment Canada as acting manager of the National Lab for Marine and Coastal Meteorology. Mr. Desjardins discussed Environment Canada鈥檚 work developing a storm surge protection and water levels alert system, as well as the agency鈥檚 efforts to streamline connections between themselves, DFO and DND.
But this occasion was not all business.
Conveniently, our sister city鈥檚 most recent visit took place during International Fleet Review Week. After wrapping up official business, Virginians and Nova Scotians alike took part in the Canadian navy鈥檚 100th birthday celebrations.