With funding from the Department of Defence and other agencies, the mineral development company ZEN Graphene Solutions has launched a research collaboration with UBC’s Dr. Mohammad Arjmand (PhD) and his team to develop graphene nanocomposites for use in satellites.
Organization: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
New anti-racist movements on social media are upending the status quo for diversity and inclusion in academia
A general strike in support of Black academics on June 10th may have signalled the end of business-as-usual for diversity and inclusion efforts at post-secondary institutions.
NSERC considers “new possibilities” in responding to COVID-19 crisis
NSERC has done things “we never thought were possible” as it moves to address the research community’s evolving needs.
The Short Report, April 15, 2020: Regulators move fast to approve AI-powered x-rays for COVID-19; American lawmakers look askance at Huawei PPE donations; and more
The Fonds de recherche du Québec – santé (FRQS), the Quebec government’s health sciences research arm, will provide $2 million to help create the Centre de Recherche en Biologie Structurale (CRBS) at McGill University. The centre aims to advance understanding of the fundamental biological mechanisms of disease, which could help address medical challenges like targeting treatments to specific…
Defence awards Patriot One Technologies $780,000 contract to secure its naval bases
The Canadian surveillance firm was chosen by Innovation Solutions Canada (ISC) for the Department of Defence (DND) to roll out its multi-sensor platform at Canadian naval bases. Patriot One’s technology sidesteps concerns about AI for facial recognition by relying on other types of data.
Federal research funders endorse plan to improve research assessment
Five major Canadian research funders have signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a set of recommendations for improving the way the output of scientific research is evaluated. The signing comes at a time when the values of academia and society are increasingly at odds with academia’s traditional system of incentives and rewards.
The Short Report, November 6, 2019: Quantum lapse, Waterloo unicorn, social transformation
The Ford government in Ontario has let funding lapse for the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing. Founded in 2002 with a record-setting philanthropic donation and support from both the federal and provincial governments, the institute has attracted top talent and is often cited for its leading research. While the federal government recently promised reinvestment of…
Except Greens, campaigning parties silent on support for STI
With the exception of the Green Party, scant attention is being paid to STI funding and policy issues as the parties compete on so-called pocketbook issues while ignoring the critical underpinnings of the knowledge economy.
Colleges to help shape Canada’s research EDI program through two-year Dimensions pilot
A cohort of post-secondary institutions has been selected to participate in a pilot program to chart the way toward greater equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in Canada’s research ecosystem. Five of the institutions are colleges, making the research EDI program, known as Dimensions, unique in the world.