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Campus Bulletin

April 27, 2007

Province Invests $8.6 Million in Research at U of G

University of Guelph researchers are getting an $8.6-million boost in funding from the province to further cutting-edge projects in advanced material engineering, agriculture and nuclear physics.

The investment is part of the Ontario Research Fund’s research infrastructure program, which helps researchers obtain the tools they need to stay on the forefront of innovation — tools such as lab space, equipment and computer software.

Profs. Stefan Kycia and Paul Garrett, Physics, and Prof. Jacek Lipkowski, Chemistry, are the recipients of the $8.6 million in provincial funding, which will leverage investments from 14 industry and other partners.

“The Research Infrastructure Fund aligns research excellence with provincial commitment in investment,” said Prof. Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). “Profs. Garrett, Lipkowski and Kycia exemplify U of G’s capacity to do world-class research that will underpin our future quality of life.”

Kycia is receiving $5.2 million to help his research team create the Brockhouse X-ray Diffraction and Scattering Sector as part of a national program of new-materials discovery. Scientists in seven provinces are collaboratively studying how the properties of materials change when they are stressed by extremes of pressure or temperature. The goal is to expand our understanding of the structure of materials, which could lead to transformative breakthroughs in drugs, emulsions, batteries, petroleum products and quantum materials.

Garrett is receiving $665,914 for an innovative neutron detector array for nuclear physics experiments. This advanced technology will allow Garrett and other U of G researchers to search for new answers to basic scientific questions about the structure of nuclei, origin of elements in the universe and the stability of matter. These experiments will lead to new innovations in the electronics industry.

Lipkowski is receiving almost $2.8 million to enhance facilities at U of G's Centre for Food and Soft Materials Science. The funding will enable him and other leading Ontario scientists to conduct collaborative biomaterials research among physicists, chemists, biologists and experts from other fields. Their work will strengthen the competitive advantages of Ontario’s dairy, nutraceutical and pulp and paper industries.