Organization: Univ of Victoria

UVic gets $2.5M for research-focused scholarships

Univ of Victoria has announced $2.5 million worth of graduate scholarships that are focused on research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The fund is part of the $12-million initiative earlier announced by the province to boost its technology and innovation sectors by attracting and retaining top talent. About 16,000 domestic students enrolled in…

Independent Expert Panel on Aquaculture

Twelve members of the science and research community have been named to the independent expert panel on aquaculture science. They will join Chief Science Advisor Dr Mona Nemer to advise the federal government about how to protect the country’s marine environment for a more responsible and sustainable aquaculture sector. The creation of the independent panel…

Niagara supercomputer available to all Canadian researchers

Niagara, Canada’s most powerful supercomputer to date, is now available to researchers across the country, thanks to funding from the federal and provincial governments and Univ of Toronto, where the supercomputer is housed. Niagara is being supported by the university’s high performance computing division, SciNet. The supercomputer is part of the national advanced research computing…

CCA names five to Scientific Advisory Committee

The Council of Canadian Academies has appointed David Castle, Sophie D’Amours, Malcolm King, Barbara Neis and Nicole Poirier to its scientific advisory committee. The committee advises the CCA’s board of directors on expert assessments, particularly on question selection and expert panel membership. Castle is VP research, and a professor in the School of Public Administration,…

New cohort of Mitacs fellows to start 12-month immersion in government agencies

Twenty-one academic researchers from Canada and the US are the recipients of the 2017-2018 Canadian Science Policy Fellowship awards. Mitacs has announced the second cohort of fellows who will train for 12 months to learn how government policies at the federal and provincial levels are crafted. Mitacs is working with partners in the Government of…

Pressure grows to increase support for fundamental research, tie funding levels to demand

Canada’s support for fundamental research has fallen by a third between 2005 and 2015, but many in the Canadian research community are concerned the federal government doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to take action. The deterioration in federal support — occurring over a period closely corresponding to the decade in which the government of Stephen Harper was in power — witnessed a major swing in funding from fundamental to applied research, with 40% of researchers reporting a similar shift in their focus.

UrtheCast taps SADI to develop 16- radar and optical satellite constellation

Vancouver’s UrtheCast Corp has received $17.6 million from the Strategic Aerospace & Defence Initiative (SADI) to further develop its planned constellation of earth observation satellites. The 16-satellite constellation will consist of eight synthetic aperture radar satellites and eight high-resolution optical satellites. SADI will support the project through its four-year pre-commercial design and development phase and…

NSERC awards $28 million in CREATE grants

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council is providing graduate and post-doctoral training grants of $1.65 million to 17 research teams through its Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. The $28 million in awards range from materials for enhanced energy technologies at the Univ of Victoria and advanced network systems for intelligent transportation at…

BioMark to collaborate with U of A metabolomics centre

Vancouver’s BioMark Diagnostics Inc has received an Engage partnership grant to collaborate with The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC) at the University of Alberta to research, validate and establish new biomarkers for metabolomic tests with clinical and diagnostic applications. TMIC is a Genome Canada-funded Science & Technology Innovation Centre that builds on metabolics expertise at the…