A Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) investment of $414,672 to Memorial was announced on June 18 in Ottawa. The awards were in support of four newly recruited faculty members. Dr. Christina Bottaro, Chemistry, was awarded $44,288 for a capillary electrophoresis system to aid in the analysis and identification of environmental pollutants. Dr. David Thompson, also in Chemistry, was awarded $151,576 for infrastructure to support research in the area of nanotechnology. Two researchers from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Drs. Faisal Khan and George Mann, were also awarded funds. Dr. Khan was awarded $122,452 for a laboratory facility for process safety and risk management. Dr. Mann was awarded $96,356 for the development of Intelligent Systems Lab (ISLAB) for research in coordinated robotics.

“Funding from the CFI is providing new faculty members with the infrastructure they need to do world-class research in important new areas that will benefit the university and community at large,” said Dr. Christopher Loomis, vice-president (research).

“Today’s investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure will help support the development of world-class expertise in universities and communities across the country,” said Industry Minister Allan Rock.

“These awards recognize new researchers whose work will surely be of direct benefit to Canadians in a wide range of fields,” said Dr. David Strangway, CFI president and CEO. “These projects were selected following a highly competitive process and will help ensure that researchers and students at Memorial University have access to a world-class research and training environment.”

The national announcement of over $40 million in funding to 46 institutions across the country was made by Dr. Strangway and Mr. Pagtakhan in Ottawa.

These investments, approved by the CFI board of directors on June 17, were made under the New Opportunities Fund, providing $33.5 million for infrastructure support to newly recruited academic staff, and the Infrastructure Operating Fund providing $10 million to help with operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure projects.

A complete list of New Opportunities projects by university can be found at www.innovation.ca.

The New Opportunities Fund is designed to help launch the careers of new and talented faculty members. By attracting and retaining new, high-calibre talent, the CFI is assisting Canada’s efforts to strengthen research training at institutions across Canada.

The CFI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation established by the Government of Canada in 1997 to strengthen the capacity for innovation in Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and other non-profit research institutions.