The Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) announced Wednesday that 60 researchers at York University have been awarded more than $7 million in NSERC grants, while eight graduate students have received a total of $318,500 in funding for scholarships and fellowships. The funding was awarded following national, peer-reviewed competitions conducted by NSERC.
“On behalf of the York research community, I am very pleased by this announcement,” said Robert Haché, York’s vice-president research & innovation. “NSERC’s investment in science, engineering and technological research reflects the exceptional quality of the research activities undertaken by York’s researchers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Our growing success in NSERC grant competitions allows our researchers to continue to grow and strengthen their innovative research programs across these disciplines from a base of excellence.”
Scientists, engineers and students at universities across the country will receive more than $410 million in grants and scholarships over terms ranging from one to five years. These awards comprise the 2012 competition results for NSERC’s Discovery Grants, Discovery Accelerator Supplements, Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships Programs.
Forty-nine York researchers received funding in the Discovery Grants Competition, securing $6,086,000 in funding – a success rate of 71 per cent – highlighting the strength of University research programs in the science and engineering disciplines.
In the Discovery Grants and Discovery Accelerator Supplements Competition, the funding was granted for research programs covering a wide range of topics, including:
- Experiments in the atmospheres of Mars and Earth
- Structural and functional imaging of the human thalamus
- The role of electrical synapses in vision
- The development and application of dynamic smart surfaces
- Thoracic and lumbar spine biomechanics
- Development and application of mass spectrometry imaging to biological models
York researchers were also awarded $601,733 in funding in the Research Tools & Instruments competition.
"Our government's top priority is jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. To remain at the forefront of the global economy, our government is investing in the people and ideas that will produce tomorrow's breakthroughs," said Gary Goodyear, federal minister of state for science and technology. "Through these investments, we are creating the best-educated and most skilled workforce in the world."
"Through these programs, NSERC provides direct support to an exceptionally strong base of scientific and creative talent in every field of the natural sciences and engineering," said Suzanne Fortier, NSERC president. "Our scholarships and fellowships programs help us recruit and retain the bright young minds that will lead the next generation of Canadian discoverers and innovators. The flexibility and broad base of research supported by our internationally recognized Discovery Grants Program maintains our capacity to promote important breakthroughs."
The Discovery Grants Program supports ongoing programs of research in every scientific and engineering discipline. Valued at $120,000 over three years, Discovery Accelerator Supplements are awarded to researchers whose research proposals suggest and explore high-risk, novel or potentially transformative concepts and lines of inquiry, and are likely to have impact by contributing to groundbreaking advances in the proposed areas of research.
Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) grants foster and enhance the discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in the natural sciences and engineering by supporting the purchase of research equipment and installations.
The NSERC scholarships and fellowships awards announced Wednesday − comprised of the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships − offer support at the master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral levels.
For more information, visit the NSERC website.