National Research Council of Canada: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is the country's leading organisation for scientific research and development.

NRC was established in 1916, mainly to advise the government. Then, in the early 1930s, laboratories were built in Ottawa. NRC grew rapidly during World War II, then played a major role during the explosion of basic and applied science and engineering research between 1945-65. NRC personnel invented the artificial pacemaker, developed canola (rapeseed) (1940s), the Crash Position Indicator (1950s) and the Cesium Beam Atomic clock (1960s).

NRC now focuses on developing partnerships with private and public-sector technology companies, both in Canada and elsewhere.