$43.5M announced for 282 new researchers at Canadian universities

Ottawa, ON June 18, 2003 Research infrastructure funding of C$43.5, to support 282 new faculty appointments at 46 universities across Canada, was announced today by Dr David Strangway, president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

“Besides helping attract new, high-calibre talent to Canada, the new opportunities fund has enabled universities across the country to preserve our most important resource – our intellectual capital,” says Dr Strangway. “Today’s investment will help Canadian universities to recruit and retain the best and brightest research minds.”

On June 17, the CFI Board of Directors approved a total investment of $43.5 million in infrastructure for 237 projects at 46 universities. Some of the projects include:

– University of Manitoba; facility for development and evaluation of advanced membrane separation processes in wastewater treatment;

– University of Windsor; instrumentation for characterizing size-reduced waste plastics to improve automotive recovery and recycling;

– Universit du Qubec/Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique; usine pilote mobile pour la mise l’chelle de technologies environnementales;

– Memorial University of Newfoundland; a capillary electrophoresis system for the analysis and identification of environmental pollutants.

The $43.5 million CFI investment has been awarded through two funds: $33.5 million under the new opportunities fund to enable universities to provide infrastructure for newly recruited faculty members, and the remaining $10 million under the infrastructure operating fund to assist universities with operating and maintenance costs.