James S. Edwards—Vice-President, NSERC Governing Council

The Honourable James S. Edwards is a former broadcaster, business executive and parliamentarian, and an advocate for postsecondary education. He pursued 29 years in Canadian broadcasting and established Edmonton's first FM radio station in 1964.  Elected as a member of Parliament in 1984, he chaired several key House of Commons committees, and was directly involved in rewriting Canada's cultural policy, including new broadcasting and copyright laws.

From 1998 to 2004, Edwards was president and CEO of Economic Development Edmonton. He has also chaired the University of Alberta Board of Governors, the strategy council for the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and the board of directors of ZCL Composites Inc. Edwards was also a trustee of the Alberta Ingenuity Fund for Science and Engineering. He currently chairs the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s executive committee.