Michele Mosca is drawing hieroglyphs on his chalkboard like a madman. While his fingers are flying, the young scientist explains that it requires only time to break a code with 14 digits.
Mr Mosca is one of the world's top researchers in quantum physics. Instead of accepting a lucrative offer from Boston, he chose to sign a 10-year contract at the university in Waterloo, a hi-tech city with distinct small-town character in southern Ontario.
'I need to break a lot of boundaries,' he said. 'Here, it is possible, people are very receptive.'
Mr Mosca is not alone. At a rate of 1,000 per month, talented students, top researchers and skilled labourers are pouring into Canada's dynamic tech triangle straddling Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge, 70km west of Toronto.
The area, with almost 500,000 people, has become Canada's most dynamic technology region.
In the 18th century, German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania imported a culture with a strong work ethic. The absence of an upper class 'allowed a high upward mobility and created an entrepreneurial spirit', said Ken Seiling, regional chairman of the Municipality of Waterloo.
