Article

CFI awards close to $5 million to Canada Research Chairs for infrastructure

Funding partnership equips researchers with the tools they need to innovate

OTTAWA, ON — Canada’s universities need cutting-edge research equipment and spaces to attract and retain the most accomplished and promising minds. To support them in this pursuit, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has provided more than $4.6 million to 21 Canada Research Chairs at 16 Canadian universities for the innovative tools they need to pursue their valuable work. The total includes more than $1 million awarded under the CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund to assist institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.

The funded projects include establishing an institute of slavery and Black diaspora art; setting up an internationally recognized laboratory for the study of brain plasticity and hearing loss; understanding how virtual reality is used in the classroom, and improving our understanding of invasive species and predicting their environmental and economic impacts.

The CFI is funding these projects through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), in partnership with the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program. The CRC Program is investing $140 million towards 182 new and renewed Chairs at 34 institutions. The JELF allows universities to attract top talent in diverse fields of research by providing them with the state-of-the art infrastructure required to think big and innovate.

CUMULATIVE TOTALS

Funding for infrastructure associated with a Canada Research Chair / Financement de l’infrastructure liée à une Chaire de recherche du Canada

Institution / Établissement	Projects approved / Projets appuyés
Algoma University	1
Carleton University	1
Concordia University	1
Dalhousie University	1
McGill University	1
Memorial University of Newfoundland	1
NSCAD University	1
Queen’s University	2
Université de Montréal	1
Université du Québec à Montréal	1
Université du Québec à Rimouski	1
Université Laval	3
University of British Columbia (The)	1
University of Calgary	2
University of Waterloo	1
University of Western Ontario (The)	2
Total 16 institutions / établissements	21

List of approved projects by institution / Liste des projets appuyés par établissement

Chairholder/ Chaire de recherche	Project title / Titre du projet	Maximum CFI contribution / Contribution maximale de la FCI
Algoma University
Madeira Antunes, Pedro	Infrastructure for Plant And Soil Health Research	$48,073
Total	1	$48,073
Carleton University
Kholghy, Mohammad Reza	System for Flame Synthesis, Collection and Characterization of Customized Nanoparticles	$75,001
Total	1	$75,001
Concordia University
Dokumaci, Arseli	Disability and Radical Affordances Lab	$260,000
Total	1	$260,000
Dalhousie University
Maselli, Vittorio	Extreme Waves and Coastline Dynamics in Atlantic and Arctic Canada	$175,000
Total	1	$175,000
McGill University
Lomber, Stephen	Hearing Loss and Restoration Laboratory	520 000 $
Total	1	520 000 $
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Ploughman, Michelle	Functional Brain Imaging and Assessment Suite	$218,360
Total	1	$218,360
NSCAD University
Nelson, Charmaine	CRC in Canadian Slavery & Transatlantic Black Diasporic Art and Community Engagement	$128,097
Total	1	$128,097
Queen’s University
Lu, Ning	Performance Evaluation of Networking/Computing Resource Management for Wireless Internet of Things	$150,000
Simpson, Amber	Computational Phenotypes of Cancer	$76,000
Total	2	$226,000
Université de Montréal
Karsenti, Thierry	Laboratoire de recherche sur la réalité virtuelle en éducation	110 440 $
Total	1	110 440 $
Université du Québec à Montréal
Trudel, Gisèle	Arts, écotechnologies et changements climatiques	176 583 $
Total	1	176 583 $
Université du Québec à Rimouski
Berteaux, Dominique	Infrastructure d'étude de la biodiversité arctique par géolocalisation et accélérométrie	75 000 $
Total	1	75 000 $
Université Laval
Breton, Sylvie	High-Resolution Immunofluorescence Microscopy System	175 000 $
Lavoie-Cardinal, Flavie	Intelligent Nanoscopy of the Molecular Dynamics in the Brain	175 000 $
Taché, Karine	Laboratoire d'archéologie biomoléculaire	182 457 $
Total	3	532 457 $
University of British Columbia (The)
Tran, Martino	Computational Urban Science and Planning	$75,003
Total	1	$75,003
University of Calgary
Emery, Carolyn	SHRed Concussions: Preventing Concussions and their Consequences in Youth	$299,999
Stadnyk, Tricia	High-Frequency Water Isotope and Hydrologic Monitoring for Improved Runoff Prediction	$190,000
Total	2	$489,999
University of Waterloo
Strack, Maria	Flexible Automated Chamber System for Quantifying the Effect of Disturbance and Restoration on Peatland GHG Exchange	$80,000
Total	1	$80,000
University of Western Ontario (The)
Duerden, Emma	Neuroscience & Learning Disorders	$200,000
Fenesi, Barbara	Investigating the Effect of Physical Activity During Classroom Instruction on Student Attention and Learning	$155,966
Total	2	$355,966
TOTAL	21 projects / projets	$3,545,979

NOTE:
As part of this announcement, an additional $1,063,794 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a mechanism that assists institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.