|
(Wolfville,
NS) - Acadia University today received over $1 million in
grants, scholarships and fellowships from the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The national
announcement was made this morning at the University of Toronto by
the Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration,
on behalf of the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry.
Acadia’s award
includes 10 Discovery Grants for faculty in the amount of $766,000
and $312,000 in student research scholarships and fellowships.
“Acadia University is
delighted with the success of its faculty and students in NSERC’s
rigorous competition for research funding,” said Dr. Gail Dinter-Gottlieb,
President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University. “Acadia is
committed to developing students who become scholars and scientists,
and further building our reputation as an undergraduate institution
whose faculty is making a significant contribution to the nation’s
research capacity.”
Receiving Discovery
Grant Awards are: Dr. Svetlana Barkanova $54,000 over three years;
Dr. Michael Domaratzki $63,000 over three years; Dr. Ronald Haynes
$39,000 over three years; Dr. Amitabh Jha $100,000 over five years;
Dr. Tomasz Müldner $75,000 over five years and Dr. Ying Zhang
$36,000 over three years. (Click here for
detailed backgrounder.)
Dr. Sandra Barr of
Acadia’s Geology department has also received an NSERC Equipment
Grant in the amount of $14,000 for a rock sample crusher.
Within Acadia’s
$766,000 in Discovery Awards, is renewed funding for several
existing NSERC researchers. Dr. Sharon Roscoe received $265,000 over
five years, Dr. Dave Shutler $70,000 over five years, and Dr. Peter
Williams $50,000 over the next five years.
(Click here for detailed backgrounder.)
Acadia students also
fared extremely well in NSERC’s scholarship and fellowship
competition, with 32 students receiving research awards at the
graduate and undergraduate levels. Aaryn Tonita of the Physics
department was the only student from a small undergraduate
university to win a prestigious Julie Payette Research Scholarship.
The $24,000 scholarship, named in honour of the Canadian astronaut
and NSERC Council member Julie Payette, is awarded to the 24 most
outstanding Post Graduate Scholarship applicants.
“Canadian universities
are appointing hundreds of new professors to replace those who are
retiring. It is also very good for Canada that these new people are
not only eager but also well qualified to do research,” said NSERC
President Tom Brzustowski. “NSERC discovery grants are very
important because they provide funding to create new knowledge.”
Science and
Engineering Research Canada (NSERC) is a key federal agency
investing in people, discovery and innovation. It supports both
basic university research through research grants, and project
research through partnerships among postsecondary institutions,
government and the private sector, as well as the advanced training
of highly qualified people.
Acadia University, in
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, has long been recognized as one of Canada’s
premier undergraduate institutions. With its nationally and
internationally recognized research initiatives, small class sizes
and technology-rich teaching and learning environment, Acadia offers
students an experience that includes academic achievement combined
with personal growth and development. For more information about
Acadia, visit our website at
www.acadiau.ca.
-30-
Backgrounder-
NSERC Discovery Awards
Dr. Svetlana Barkanova
Physics
$54,000 over 3 years
“Weak Interactions and Neutrino Physics”
For decades it was believed that the
neutrino, one of the fundamental particles in the universe, should
have neither charge nor mass. However, new experiments at the
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, a world-class Canadian facility, have
shown clearly that this is not so -solar neutrinos change their type
during transit to the Earth.
Dr. Barkanova’s research will provide crucial theoretical input for
these ongoing investigations into neutrinos, as well as explore the
properties of quarks. A better understanding of the internal
properties of nucleons can lead to cold thermonuclear fusion with
potential to help solve our energy crisis.
Dr. Michael Domaratzki
Computer Science
$63,000 over 3 years
“Semantic Language Operations”
In computer science, “words” are sequences of abstract symbols
and are used to model many different real-world objects including
DNA strands, sequences of events in an industrial process, messages
transmitted across a network or the internal action of a piece of
software.
The most fundamental task on “words” is to combine them using some
operation - mutation for DNA strands or combining two industrial
processes together. Dr. Domaratzki’s research looks at operations on
“words” with the aim of classifying them. By classifying these
“words” and studying them together, Dr. Domaratzki hopes to help
researchers understand their uses in diverse applications.
Dr. Ronald Haynes
Mathematics and Statistics
$39,000 over 3 years
“Multirate Implementations of 2D moving mesh methods”
Dr. Haynes' award will support fundamental research in computer
simulation of models of physical processes. Most sophisticated
models of real world phenomena require computation best suited to
digital computers. Of particular interest are models which stretch
current computing resources including combustion and fluid flow in
three dimensions. The focus of Dr. Haynes' research is to provide
advanced numerical tools to tackle these types of problems.
Dr. Amitabh Jha
Chemistry
$100,000 over 5 years
“Probing Estrogen Receptors with Small Molecules”
The main focus of Dr. Jha’s research is design and development of
potential drugs for the treatment of cancer, particularly the
development of novel therapies for breast cancer. His research will
also specifically focus on the identification of newer and safe
alternatives to drugs like tamoxifen.
In his medical chemistry laboratory, Dr. Jha will synthesize the
compounds rationally designed to selectively modulate the estrogen
receptors. The candidate drugs will then be tested for their
effectiveness in the laboratory of Professor Catherine Lazier,
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie
University.
Dr. Tomasz Müldner
Computer Science
$75,000 over 5 years
“XML-Based Globalization Framework”
Websites using a single language are of limited value to users
who speak different languages, particularly in countries like Canada
where there are two official languages.
Dr. Müldner will investigate and develop techniques for
internationalized software that can be easily adapted to various
languages. In the first stage of his research, Dr. Müldner will
develop an internationalized personal website at Acadia that will
“speak many languages.”
Dr. Ying Zhang
Mathematics and Statistics
$36,000 over 3 years
“Time Series Analysis and Computing”
Dr. Zhang will develop theory and methodology for computing and
time series analysis. Specific topics will include exact maximum
likelihood in the first order autoregressive model and unit root
tests, subset autoregressive modeling, and symbolic
computation. Applications will focus on economic time series,
environmental time series as well as pharmacoeconomic data.
NSERC Equipment Grant
Dr. Sandra Barr
Geology
$14,000
“Rock Sample Crusher”
This new machine will be safe and clean to use, and employ the
latest technological design to produce the best rock samples
possible.
NSERC Discovery Grants - Renewals-
Dr. Sharon Roscoe
Chemistry
$265,000 over 5 years
“Interfacial Behaviour of Proteins, Lipids and Carbohydrates
Important to Food Processing: A Potential Controlled Approach”
Dr. Peter Williams
Physics
$50,000 over 5 years
“Structural and Electrical Properties of Organic Monolayers”
Dr. Dave Shutler
Biology Department
$70,000 over 5 years
“Avian Reproductive Ecology in Relation to Parasites”
Julie Payette
NSERC Research
Scholarship
Aaryn Tonita, Physics
Yarmouth, NS
Twenty-four Canadian graduate students have been awarded the
2005 Julie Payette-NSERC Research Scholarships.
These scholarships are offered to the best Post Graduate
Scholarship candidates reviewed by the eight discipline-based
Scholarships and Fellowships selection committees.
Canadian astronaut and NSERC Council member Julie Payette, who
was invited to lend her name to this program, embodies the
leadership qualities and excellence that NSERC is seeking to
encourage and support. Winners are chosen for their outstanding
academic excellence, research ability and potential, and leadership
and communication skills.
These scholarships are valued at $25,000 per year for one year.
NSERC Postgraduate
Scholarships (Masters)
$17,300 for 1 year
Rachel Mills, Chemistry
Kippens, Newfoundland
Robert Lodge, Geology
Deer Lake, Newfoundland
David Toews, Biology
Wolfville, NS
Meghan McConnell, Psychology
Surrey, BC
Christopher Farlinger, Kinesiology
Annan, ON
NSERC Graduate Scholarships
(Masters)
$17,500 for 1 year
Robert O’Quinn, Computer Science
Corner Brook, Newfoundland
Hania El Ayoubi, Computer Science
United Arab Emirates
Ryan Poirier, Computer Science
Cheticamp, NS
Laura Turner, Math and Stats
Windsor, NS
Kimberley Coleman, Math and Stats
Coldbrook, NS
Katie Gardner, Math and Stats
St. Margaret’s Bay, NS
Daniel Simeone, Math and Stats
Little York, PE
NSERC Undergraduate Summer
Research Awards
$4,500 from NSERC, supplemented by the supervisor by at least $1,125
for $5,625 for the summer
Erica Newton, Biology
Bridgewater, NS
Colin Turner, Math and Stats
Windsor, NS
Megan Coxhead, Biology
Kentville, NS
Scott Hubley, Biology
Truro, NS
Anna Smallwood, Kinesiology
Corner Brook, Newfoundland
Adrian Mendez, Chemistry
Lucasville, NS
Jean MacLachlan, Physics
Glace Bay, NS
Robert Thompson, Physics
Halifax, NS
Heather Wolczanski, Geology
Carp, ON
Stuart Read, Chemistry
Dartmouth, NS
Sarah Wood, Biology
Ebenezer, SK
James Ozon, Biology
Porters Lake, NS
Kristen Travers, Psychology
Dartmouth, NS
Deanna Wolfe, Biology
Hantsport, NS
Peter Glen, Biology
Ottawa, ON
Michael Wheeler, Chemistry
Grand Falls, Windsor NL
Julia Feldstein, Psychology
Newton, MA USA
Philip Wilder, Computer Science
New Minas, NS
Dave Burnett, Biology
Victoria, BC
|
