INTRODUCTION

The Office of Research has been publishing an annual Inventory of Sponsored Projects since 1974 (prior to 1998-99 published under the title of Research Inventory). This volume, the 29th in the series, lists the sponsored project activity that was carried out at Memorial for the fiscal year April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003. This and previous versions of the Inventory dating back to 1995-1996 are available on the Office of Research Web site at www.mun.ca/research.

The Inventory does not list all research activity being carried out at Memorial. It lists only the research that has received direct funding support. Another publication of the Office of Research, the Research Directory, covers the research interests and activity of current members of faculty. The last printed edition of the Research Directory is 2001. It is now maintained as an on-line database on the Office of Research Web site at www.mun.ca/research.

In 2002-2003 external funding support amounted to over $51 million representing an increase of 5.8 per cent over the previous year.

Many grants and contracts are awarded for a single fiscal year; however, a substantial number bridge two or more years. For any research funding that spans more than one year, this Inventory includes only the portion awarded during the 2002-2003 fiscal year. The details were compiled from Office of Research records. Preliminary reports were sent to individual researchers for verification prior to publication. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and completeness, any errors or omissions should be reported to the Office of Research.

The Inventory continues to include grants and contracts for developmental and international projects, awards made for the organization of conferences at which research results are disseminated, research infrastructure grants and contracts, and fellowships that facilitate research. A number of grants and contracts providing support for innovative teaching techniques and course development, particularly for delivery by distance and via the Internet, are also included.

The Inventory is an awards based document reporting funding commitments made by sponsors for the year. Consequently, the Inventory should not be read as an accounting report as it does not provide a verified record of actual revenues or cash flows.

ORGANIZATION OF THE INVENTORY

The listing is organized by campus, faculty or other unit, then by department where applicable, and finally alphabetically by principal investigator within each unit. Projects supported by funds from agencies and organizations outside the university are reported in the first section of the Inventory. Grants awarded internally from block funds and from faculty funds are listed in the next section. For both internal and external awards, each research project is individually listed, giving the name of the principal investigator(s), title of the project, funding agency or fund, and the amount awarded for 2002-2003. Some scholars have appointments in more than one faculty or department, or are cross-appointed with an institute; their projects are listed in detail only once but the additional affiliations are noted and cross-referencing is provided so that the details of all awards may be readily located.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The production of the Inventory was, as usual, owing to the efforts of a number of people. Elizabeth Williams was responsible for formatting and editing. Janice Peach, Eleanor Butler, Jan Hopkins, Debbie Barnes and Elizabeth Williams assisted with data verification. Deborah Inkpen assisted with printing. Craig Perchard co-ordinated the effort. Outside of the Office of Research special thanks are extended to the staff in the Administrative Systems Group of the Department of Computing and Communications for their efforts in helping us develop and maintain our research information system from which the Inventory is produced. Also, thanks to Fred Christian-Quinton, Marine Institute, Sheila Bartlett, C-CORE, and Colleen Clarke, International Centre, for assisting with their data. Thanks to Dean Hogan of University Relations for the cover design. Finally, special thanks to all researchers and administrative personnel for contributing to the integrity of the data by taking the time to respond during the verification process.