A geoscientist works to turn innovation into commercialization gold
Dr. Philip Walsh is not an engineer, but he’s currently part of a team building a ground-source heat pump for the Kortright Centre for Conservation north of Toronto. He’s not a computer programmer either, but he’s playing a key role in the development of a new app that will help people thinking about buying an electric vehicle to decide if it makes financial sense.
Dr. Walsh is a rare breed: a registered geoscientist with a doctorate in strategic management, years of experience working as a consultant in the mining, oil, gas and energy sectors, and an abundance of enthusiasm for truly inter-disciplinary research.
“I'm passionate about innovation and sustainability. That’s what brought me to Ryerson in the first place,” says Dr. Walsh. “What continues to motivate me is the ability to apply my skills to strategic management and commercialization in the energy sector, where so much is changing right now. There’s incredible potential for new technology, and Ryerson is really at the forefront.”
Dr. Walsh is particularly interested in identifying commercialization strategies for small and medium renewable energy enterprises, lending his industry expertise to the technical expertise of his engineering collaborators in order to devise more sustainable approaches to living in urban centres. "I'm very excited about our work on a net-zero energy house. My job is to figure out whether the structure and related materials can make it commercially feasible," he says.
In addition to his involvement with the Centre for Urban Energy, which studies and advocates for new technologies such as energy smart grids, energy storage, and electric vehicles, Dr. Walsh is a member of Ted Rogers School of Management's Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility, an inter-disciplinary institute established to understand the roles and interplay of government, the private sector and civil society in contributing to corporate responsibility and sustainable development.
"Whether it's policy-related and working to establish an alternative approach to public consultations related to wind development, or collaborating on the publication of a new textbook that integrates innovation and sustainability into the strategic management process, what I enjoy is the opportunity to work with some truly incredible researchers. We are all committed to finding solutions to real-world issues, and I think we all understand that today’s energy challenges can best be solved by working together, rather than in isolation.”