Turning ideas into innovation

McGill receives CFI support for 10 research projects

BY MICHAEL BOURGUIGNON | In the latest round of funding through its Leaders Opportunity Fund, the Canada Foundation for Innovation has earmarked $1.5 million to help McGill researchers turn ideas into innovations.

"These CFI funds will no doubt have a positive impact on the well-being of Canadians and communities around the world," said Denis Thérien, Vice-Principal, Research and International Relations.

The CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund is designed to provide infrastructure and help Canadian institutions attract and retain top researchers. As a result, said Thérien, "our researchers are transforming their ideas into innovations that provide solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our time."

The 10 research projects to receive CFI funding run the gamut from architecture to waste-water treatment.

• Adelle Blackett—Labour Law and Development Research Laboratory: $78,105 to build a database of information on labour law and development, with an emphasis on pluralist and trans-systemic law
• Raynald Gauvin—Quantitative Electron Diffraction and X-Ray Nanoanalysis of Materials with Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Monte Carlo Simulations: $361,760 to acquire new equipment used to develop new quantitative methods for characterizing nanomaterials
• Michael Jemtrud—Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation (FARMM): $199,793 to establish a facility in the School of Architecture for the research and development of digital media related to architectural and urban design, engineering and related cultural and artistic activities
• In-Ho Jung—Coupled High Temperature Thermal Analysis and Thermodynamic Computing System: $62,889 to fund a facility and computing system, including databases and calculation software, dedicated to high-temperature thermal analysis of the advanced materials of metallic and oxide systems
• Zetian Mi—Molecular Beam Epitaxial Growth of Nanophotonic Materials and Devices Infrastructure: $250,000 for equipment used to investigate the growth kinetics and fundamental properties of novel, nano-scale materials; and to provide a rich environment for students and postdoctoral researchers to gain expertise in nanomaterials, nanophotonics and nanofabrication
• Monzur Murshed—Elucidation of the Molecular Mechanisms of Tissue Mineralization in Vertebrates: $79,036 to provide new infrastructure to study the mechanism underlying the mineralization of bones and teeth
• Valerie Orsat—Engineering the Extraction and Conversion of Biochemicals for the Food Industry: $82,454 for new equipment to extract and develop plant-based ingredients that can be used by the food and natural-health industries
• Michael Rabbat—Laboratory for Networked Information Processing Systems: $120,000 to provide state-of-the-art facilities for the research, development, implementation and testing of complex networked systems capable of making optimal use of energy and communication resources
• Robert Sladek—Identification of Mammalian Gene Networks Using Living Microarrays: $94,638 to acquire a fluorescent microscope for real-time cell imaging, to be used in cell research related to the development of such common diseases as diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis
• Viviane Yargeau—Laboratory for the Treatment and Valorization of Waste Streams: $120,550 for new infrastructure to research water quality and green energy so as to improve water-treatment methods and minimize the environmental impact of contaminants such as pharmaceutical products, among other objectives