Research Report 2008

CFI awards more than $600,000 to Memorial researchers

Several Memorial researchers have received more than $600,000 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for a series of diverse projects.

The announcement was made on Nov. 15, 2007 in Ottawa. In total, five Memorial researchers received $618,284.

They include:

• Dr. Ivan Saika-Voivod, assistant professor, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Faculty of Science, received $97,074 for a project entitled Computer Simulation of Liquids, Soft Systems and Biomaterials.
• Dr. John Weber, assistant professor, School of Pharmacy, received $172,647 for the development of a neuroscience laboratory.
• Dr. Thomas Chapman, assistant professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, received $133,397 to set up an Insect Behaviour/Molecular Biology (IBMB) Research Laboratory.
• Dr. Bing Chen, assistant professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, received $184,689 in funding to establish a Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control Laboratory (NRPOP).
• And, Dr. Maria Mathews, associate professor of health policy/health services with the Division of Community Health in the Faculty of Medicine, received $30,477 to help set up a Physician and Medical Practice Registry.

“We can say with conviction that Canada has become a place where world-class researchers want to be," said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, president and CEO of the CFI.

“This CFI investment will further develop Memorial University of Newfoundland’s global reputation as a place where outstanding research and training is being conducted.”

In total, the CFI announced $28 million in new funds to support 149 projects at 35 institutions across Canada. A total of $23.3 was awarded under the Leaders Opportunity Fund, a program designed to provide infrastructure to attract researchers to Canadian institutions at a time of intense international competition for knowledge workers, as well as to retain the very best of today and tomorrow’s leading researchers for Canada. The remaining $4.6 million was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, an accompanying program which assists universities with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure projects.

At Memorial alone, the CFI has invested more than $31 million in 91 projects, helping the university gain an international reputation for excellence thanks to projects such as the Atlantic Computational Excellence Network, Landmark Graphics Visualization Laboratory, Digital Research Centre for Qualitative Fieldwork, Ocean Observatory at Bonne Bay Marine Station and the Dr. Joe Brown Aquatic Research Building.