Researchers share $32.8 million from province
June 5, 2002 - The University of Alberta has been awarded $32.8 million in funding from the Alberta Science and Research Investments Program (ASRIP) for 25 new research projects in diverse fields ranging from nanotechnology and psycholinguistics to the development of fire-resistant materials.
Dr. Joel Weiner, scientific director of Project CyberCell, is part of a research project to develop virtual life. By developing computer simulations of life, starting with the E. coli bacteria, researchers could one day test new drugs in a virtual environment before testing them on people or animals. The project, which also relies upon partners at the universities of Calgary and Lethbridge, received $4.7 million in ASRIP funding.
However, according to Lynda Brulotte, U of A coordinator of Canada Foundation for Innovation and ASRIP grants, some researchers were hoping the provincial funding would be sufficient to provide needed matching support to CFI grants awarded in January this year. Unfortunately, she said, the province was unable to provide as much funding as was hoped for to match all of the CFI grants received by researchers at the U of A.
Weiner's research team had asked for more in provincial funding, but Weiner is grateful for the amount the project received.
"The sort of equipment we are buying is very expensive," said Weiner. "There are some things we'd like to have two of that we'll just have one of for now. Some things are going to have to wait."
Dr. Betty Crown, a human ecology professor, will receive $537,000 for her research of protective clothing for people in dangerous environments. The funding means new equipment for her research team, which includes Dr. Doug Dale and Mark Ackerman of the department of mechanical engineering.
As part of their work, the researchers suit up a mannequin in protective clothing and then expose it to a flash fire, in which temperatures soar as high as 1,600°C.
Crown says the team's research has progressed to a point that it is now necessary to examine what happens in such conditions at a "very basic" level.
"We'll be getting equipment that allows us to better understand the basic mechanisms of material combustion and heat transfer," she said. "We need to actually 'see' what is happening at a basic level."
Dr. Michael Brett, a professor of electrical engineering, was awarded $3 million to help outfit new nanotechnology research facilities at the U of A. The funding helps the U of A bridge the gap between microfabrication and nanofabrication.
"The facility will serve many users on campus from a variety of departments, and it's an open access facility that has leading capabilities in Canada for nanofabrication," he said. "We will serve users from across Canada."
The provincial government funding will form matching grants to previously announced funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and private-sector funding partners.
"This award provides key partner funding for a number of cutting edge research initiatives and reflects the high quality of the innovative research being conducted at the University of Alberta," said U of A Vice President (Research) Dr. Gary Kachanoski. "This success also celebrates the superb calibre of researchers we have at the university and their ability to excel in a competitive process judged at an international level."
Taken together with the CFI funding offered earlier this year, the ASRIP announcement brings the total research project support from the two groups for research at the U of A to more than $82 million.
Related links – internal
Dr. Betty Crown's U of A Web site: http://www.hecol.ualberta.ca/ecrown.html
Dr. Michael Brett's U of A Web site: http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/~brett/
Dr. Joel Wiener's U of A Web site: http://www.biochem.ualberta.ca/Biochem/Faculty/Weiner/Weiner.html
The U of A Office of the Vice-President (Research) Web site: http://www.ualberta.ca/VPRESEARCH/
Related link – external
The ASRIP Web site: http://www.innovation.gov.ab.ca/inv/sec/fun_org/asrip_001_1.cfm
Experts mentioned in this article
