$6.8M funding supports offshore research and development

St John’s, NF – A new centre for offshore engineering research is being established at Memorial University, and has received $6.8-million in funding from Suncor Energy and the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC). The centre will be located in the SJ Carew Building, the facility that already houses the university’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. The building will be expanded to accommodate the new centre.

Named the Suncor Energy Offshore Research and Development Centre, the 1,090-sq-m extension will create significant research space and opportunity for collaboration amongst faculty, graduate students and industry partners focussed on the ocean technology and offshore petroleum sectors.

Suncor Energy is contributing $2 million to the project and RDC is providing just under $4.85 million.

“We are very excited about this new expansion to the SJ Carew Building. This generous financial support will enable us to expand and improve on existing infrastructure and create critical new space for offshore research and development,” said Dr Gary Kachanoski, Memorial’s president and vice-chancellor.

“The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science is at the forefront of ocean technology and offshore research, areas of R&D vital to the oil and gas industry,” said Alan Brown, vice-president, East Coast Canada for Suncor Energy. “We see this new centre as a great opportunity to help both the university and faculty continue to grow and lead the way in innovative research and development, building a legacy of expertise and competitiveness for the province.”

The university estimates that the new expansion will help grow its Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science R&D by $6 to 8 million per year over the next five years and will involve approximately 100 full-time equivalent researchers.