The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1984, Side 13

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
11
Vigfusson has, for the past few years, been
investigating chromosome abnormalities in
pig tail macaque monkeys. The finding of
chromosome abnormalities in non-human
primates provides excellent models for the
study of similar abnormalities in humans.
Recently, Vigfusson, along with scientists
from the University of Washington Primate
Research Center, have discovered a monkey
with a chromosome abnormality never
before reported in any animal species. Dr.
Vigfusson is also certified by the American
Society of Medical Genetics as a Clinical
Cytogeneticist and as such directs the
Cytogenetics Laboratory at Scared Heart
Medical Center in Spokane, a facility
which provides chromosome analysis for
use in human medicine. He has written
articles for the Spokane County Medical
Society Bulletin and published in a number
of national and international scientific
journals.
Dr. Vigfusson received his Bachelor’s
Degree from the University of Manitoba in
1951 and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the
University of Alberta. He joined the faculty
of Eastern Washington University, located
in Cheney, Washington, in 1969, rising to
the rank of professor in 1976.
* * *
CANADA’S SECRET COMPUTER
CENTRE
by Peter C. Newman
The building looks like one of those
nondescript factories that dot the west end
of Mississauga, near Toronto, where that
industrial playground fades off into its
drowsy suburbs. Nothing is manufactured
there and, despite the building’s size
(60,000 square feet), hardly anyone ever
enters or leaves through its imposing
shock-sensored doors.
This is the headquarters of Combac
Management Corp., one of the more eso-
Helgason
teric offshoots of our computer age. Except
for its president, a bearded former Winni-
pegger of Icelandic origin named Gunnar
Helgason, and his secretaries, the building
is deliberately kept empty — empty, that
is, but for the banks of silent sentinels in its
lower level. This is a “computer backup
centre,” quietly financed by three dozen of
Canada’s big-ticket corporations. Except
for a similar arrangement in Philadelphia, it
is the largest facility of its kind in the free
world.
Helgason loosely classifies himself as a
financial consultant. He was invited to
leave the University of Manitoba after two
years of science courses for playing cards
once too often in the students’ union. He
then became a chartered accountant,
worked for Manitoba Hydro, Ducks Un-
limited, Coopers & Lybrand and Thome
Riddell. He has packaged tax shelters, sold
MURBS and now has interests in half a
dozen Journey’s End Motels, as well as
doing the syndication packaging for Gol-
den Griddle restaurants and dealing in Flor-
ida real estate. His most interesting venture
(with a partner, Frank Dwyer) is Manu-
Comp Systems, which sells computer soft-
ware to doctors and dentists. He is also a
partner in New Age Softwear Ltd., which