Dr. Michael C. Ircha
FCSCE, FEIC, P.Eng., MCIP, RPP

Phone:            (613) 421-1793
Fax:                 (613) 232-9554
Email:             ircha@unb.ca

Mailing Address: 301 Amita Crescent, Ottawa, ON K2C 4J1

Speciality:

• Marine Transportation, Ports Administration, Municipal Administration, and
  Urban Planning

Background:

• BScE CE, Queens, 1968
• MPl Urban & Regional Planning, Queens, 1973
• MPA Public Administration, Queens, 1980
• ndc, National Defence College, 1993
• PhD, Ports Administration, Wales, 1997

Professor Ircha has worked as an urban planner, city engineer, and city administrator. He offers consulting services in policy and planning issues related to marine transport and ports, as well as municipal administration and planning.

Current Appointments:

Senior Advisor, Association of Canadian Port Authorities, Ottawa
Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University, Ottawa

Recent Awards:

2008    Appointed New Brunswick Ambassador, Business New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB
2007    Atlantic Planner’s Institute (API) “Volunteer Award for Municipal Planning and Education”, Canadian Institute of Planners
2007    UNB President’s Medal for outstanding career in teaching, research and administration at the University of New Brunswick
2006    Province of New Brunswick Merit Award for Community Leadership, August 2006.
2004     Recipient of the Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Fredericton, N.B.

Research Interests:

Ports Administration

• Trade Corridors and Gateway Strategies
  
• Waterfront development (port versus municipal interests)
  
• Social License for Ports

• Port governance models
  
• Characteristics of mega-hub container ports
  

Local Government Administration

• SSHRC Major Collaborative Research Initiative (MCRI), "Multilevel Governance and Public Policy in Canadian Municipalities" (2004-09) - a multi-disciplinary research animator focussing on federal-municipal relations, in particular with respect to "federal lands", in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ottawa and British Columbia. The principal researchers are in the Department of  Political Science at the University of Western Ontario.
  
• NSERC Strategic Grant, "Development of a High-fidelity Urban Spatial Information System for Advanced Land Use and Transportation Planning" (2008-10), Department of Civil Engineeiring, UNB.

Recent Publications:

• M.C. Ircha, “Trade Gateways and Freight Corridors: Building Capacity”, Annual Conference of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, Prince Rupert BC, August, 2009

• P. John, J. Christie, M.C. Ircha, “Places of Refuge for Ships in Need of Assistance in Canada: Policy Lessons from other Maritime Nations”, Proceedings, Canadian Transportation Research Forum, Toronto, May 2010 (Best Paper award)

• R. Mustafa, M. Zhong and M.C. Ircha, “Short Sea Shipping in Canada: Regulatory and Policy Issues”, Proceedings, Canadian Transportation Research Forum, Toronto, May 2010

• M.C. Ircha, “Waterways and Port Security”, International Symposium on National Critical Infrastructure Systems and Security, Carleton University, Ottawa, May 2010

• M.C. Ircha, “Trade Corridors and Gateways: An Evolving National Transportation Plan”, Proceedings, 2009 International Workshop on ‘Integrating Maritime Transport in Value Chains’, University of Montreal, June 2009

• M.C. Ircha, “The Future of West Coast Ports: Canada’s Gateway and Trade Corridors Initiative and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy”, Proceedings, Transportation Research Forum, Portland Oregon, March 2009

• M.C. Ircha, “Wide World of Transportation” and “Environment: Social License for Ports”, Proceedings, National Port Operations and Environment Seminar, Association of Canadian Port Authorities, Montreal, November 2008

• M.C. Ircha, “Canadian Ports: Trends and Opportunities”, Canadian Political Science Review, 2 (4), December 2008, pp. 1-22

• M.C. Ircha, “Canadian Ports: Challenges and Opportunities”, Commonwealth Minister’s Reference Book 2008, Henley Media Group, London UK, 2008, pp. 102-105.

• M.C. Ircha, “Opportunities and Challenges facing Canadian Ports”, Proceedings, 43rd Canadian Transportation Research Forum, Fredericton, June 2008, pp. 612-626

• M.C. Ircha, “Wide World of Marine Transportation”, Proceedings, 2nd Biennial Conference, Canadian Marine Pilots Association, Vancouver, Aril 2008

• M.C. Ircha, “Productivity and Competitiveness in a Global Market”, Proceedings, Association of Canadian Port Authorities Annual Conference, Montreal, August 2007.
  
• M.C. Ircha, “Maritime Education in Cross-Cultural Settings”, WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs, 5:1, April 2006, pp. 37-59
  
• M.C. Ircha, “Container Trade Continues to Grow”, Canadian Ports Magazine, March 2006, pp. 6-13.
  
• M.C. Ircha, "Port Privatisation: Commerce and Recreation", Proceedings, Annual Conference of the International Association of Maritime Economists, Panama City, November 2002.
  
• M.C. Ircha, "Ports and Infrastructure", Shipping Federation of Canada's Special Supplement to the Globe & Mail, March 2003, pp. 21-22.
  
• M.C. Ircha, "Twinning in Thailand: An Effective Municipal Partnership" Part 1, Municipal World, 112:9, September 2002, pp. 5-8; and "Twinning in Thailand: Fredericton and Ubon Ratchathani", Part 2, Municipal World, 112:10, October 2002, pp. 21-24.
  
• Ircha, M.C., “North American port reform: the Canadian and American experience”, International Journal of Maritime Economics, 3:2, June 2001, pp. 198-220.
  
• Ircha, M.C., “Serving tomorrow’s mega-size container ships: the Canadian solution”, International Journal of Maritime Economics, 3:3, September 2001, pp. 318-322.