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NRC has been the country's leading federal resource for S&T-based research for more than 90 years. Established in 1916, NRC began mainly as an advisory body to government, a role that changed greatly in the early 1930s when new laboratories were built in Ottawa. During the Second World War, NRC grew rapidly as it performed R&D to benefit the Allied effort.
NRC played a major role during the explosion of basic and applied research in science and engineering during the post-war period and into the 1960s. Key accomplishments during this period included the invention of the Pacemaker (1940s), the development of Canola (1950s), the Crash Position Indicator (1960s) and the Cesium Beam Atomic Clock (1960s).
NRC continued to offer cutting-edge research in support of industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, a tradition maintained to this day. Key success included the development of Computer Animation Technology (1970s) and the Canadarm (1980s). NRC's recent history has focused on developing partnerships with private and public-sector players in Canada and internationally to help drive technology and stimulate wealth creation.
