Lakehead Receives $2,425,837 in NSERC Funding: A Range of Grants Awarded to University’s Researchers, and Graduate and Undergraduate Students
(May 21, 2008 - Thunder Bay, ON) Today, Industry Minister Jim Prentice announced approximately $535 million in Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Canada (NSERC) funding and scholarships, to be distributed to more than 9,900 professors and students at more than 60 higher education institutions across Canada. Lakehead University is a proud recipient of this funding. Twenty-two of its researchers, 11 graduate students, and 21 undergraduate students have been awarded NSERC's 2008 Discovery Grants, Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Grants, Postgraduate Scholarships, or Undergraduate Student Research Awards totalling $2,425,837.
Discovery Grants, typically paid out over five-year periods, support research in the natural sciences and engineering fields. 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. Scholarship Grants allow young university researchers at the graduate level to pursue their studies in the natural sciences and engineering fields, while Undergraduate Student Research Awards give undergraduate students hands-on research experience in a laboratory setting.
18 Lakehead researchers have been awarded new Discovery Grants totalling $1,936,290, four Lakehead researchers have been awarded new RTI Grants totalling $185,347, and 11 Lakehead graduate students have received Postgraduate Scholarships totalling $209,700. Lakehead has also received 21 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards, and each is guaranteed to receive $4,500 in NSERC funding, with additional money that comes from the faculty supervisor's existing NSERC grant(s). Another six NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards are currently in the process of being filled. Recipients are currently working during the 2008 spring/summer session under the supervision of NSERC grant holders.
Research fields include Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Medicine, Forestry and the Forest Environment, Geology, Mathematical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Psychology, and Software Engineering.
"Lakehead University is on a trajectory to becoming one of Canada's top 25 research-intensive universities, and this continued success with NSERC funding helps propel us in the right direction," says Dr. Rui Wang, Lakehead's Vice-President (Research). "We are very proud of the many accomplishments of our researchers and faculty members, and we look forward to measuring the impact these projects will have on the growth of research development at Lakehead, as well as in the community and the region."
A recently conducted international review of the NSERC Discovery Grant Program found that the program encourages a high degree of research excellence across a broad range of fields; it allows creative individuals to seize the moment and rapidly elevate their research to a new level.
"NSERC's grants and scholarship programs are aligned with the vision of our Science and Technology Strategy, strengthened in Budget 2008. Investing in our university research is also an investment in our future, since this will enhance Canada's competitive position in the global economy," said Minister Prentice. "This funding will help ensure that the best university professors and their students across the country can continue to engage in research that will directly contribute to our national stock of knowledge, and to our prosperity."
Lakehead's 2008 NSERC Discovery Grant, Research Tools and Instruments (Equipment) Grant, and Postgraduate Scholarship Awardees are:
(Please note:Ongoing grants are not included in this list)
Dr. Stephen Hecnar
Biology
Discovery Grant
$45,000
Dr. I. Zehbe
Biology
Discovery Grant
$150,000
Dr. Baoqiang Liao
Chemical Engineering
Discovery Grant
$100,000
Dr. Aicheng Chen
Chemistry
Discovery Grant
$235,000
Dr. Zi-Hua Jiang
Chemistry
Discovery Grant
$96,000
Dr. Stephen Kinrade
Chemistry
Discovery Grant
$225,000
Dr. Robert Mawhinney
Chemistry
Discovery Grant
$66,000
Dr. Eltayeb Mohamedelhassan
Civil Engineering
Discovery Grant
$90,000
Dr. Carlos Christoffersen
Electrical Engineering
Discovery Grant
$120,000
Dr. Zhiwei Mao
Electrical Engineering
Discovery Grant
$87,710
Dr. Mohammad Uddin
Electrical Engineering
Discovery Grant
$140,000
Dr. Brian Ross
Faculty of Medicine (West Campus)
Discovery Grant
$60,000
Dr. Z. Suntres
Faculty of Medicine (West Campus)
Discovery Grant
$100,000
Dr. Qing-Lai Dang
Forestry and the Forest Environment
Discovery Grant
$170,900
Dr. Andrew Conly
Geology
Discovery Grant
$60,000
Dr. Tianxuan Miao
School of Mathematical Sciences
Discovery Grant
$70,000
Dr. Basel Ismail
Mechanical Engineering
Discovery Grant
$84,860
Dr. Apichart Linhananta
Physics
Discovery Grant
$36,000
Dr. David Law
Biology
RTI Grant
$84,835
Dr. Heidi Schraft
Biology
RTI Grant
$55,291
Dr. Wa Gao
Civil Engineering
RTI Grant
$10,281
Dr. Han Chen
Forestry and the Forest Environment
RTI Grant
$34,940
Ashley Thomson
Forestry and the Forestry Environment
Postgraduate Scholarship
$25,000
Christopher Chlebovec
Mathematical Sciences
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,300
James Brazeau
Psychology PhD
Postgraduate Scholarship
$21,000
Joel Symonds
Forestry and the Forestry Environment
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,500
Josip Vrbanek
Electrical Engineering
Postgraduate Scholarship
$21,000
Kristen Keyes
Biology
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,300
Lyle Chamarette
Computer Science
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,300
Patrick Joanis
Physics
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,500
Stephen Hart
Forestry and the Forestry Environment
Postgraduate Scholarship
$21,000
Susanne Walford
Biology
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,300
Zachari Medendorp
Physics
Postgraduate Scholarship
$17,500
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Media: For additional information or to arrange interviews with NSERC grant recipients, please contact Heather Scott, Communications Officer, Lakehead University, 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, Lakehead University, 807-343-8372,eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.
About NSERC
NSERC is a federal agency
whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for
the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 25,000 university
students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes
discovery by funding more than 11,000 university professors every year and
fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,400 Canadian companies to
participate and invest in university research projects.
About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for
innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in
Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7, 500
students and 2,000 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the
Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named