Feds funding research collaborations for breakthrough technologies

Canada’s federal government is investing more than $23 million in funding from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to advance 114 research projects under the NRC’s Ideation Fund initiatives, Challenge programs, and the Supercluster support programs.

In an Aug. 6 news release, government officials said the investments will cover a range of projects, from COVID-19-related R&D, to developing high-quality plant protein crops, to developing precision-engineered cell and gene therapies for chronic diseases and rare genetic disorders, to developing smart manufacturing in ground and aerospace equipment, and more.

Specific examples of projects receiving funding include:

• $1,603,078 to the University of Manitoba to collect freight data and use AI to develop intelligent road freight maps and models for the Canadian prairies and northern region, as part of the AI for Logistics Supercluster support program.
• $1,143,150 to Prince Edward Island BioAlliance to develop atypical fermentation platforms for the creation of products from renewable sources, as part of the Ocean and Sustainable Protein Production Supercluster support programs.
• $602,190 to the University of Toronto to collaborate on the development of a chewable lollipop-like device to use as a platform for non-invasive detection of viruses in saliva as part of the NRC’s Pandemic Response Challenge program.
• $594,000 to Carleton University to explore stoichiometric silicon nitride, a materials platform for quantum devices which will enable reliable sourcing, processing and transfer of quantum information and next-generation quantum cybersecurity, as part of the NRC’s High-Throughput and Secure Networks Challenge program.
• $490,287 to support McGill University in advancing a compact and mobile “lab on a chip” system that will help automate the identification of high risk COVID-19 virus variants as part of the NRC’s Pandemic Response Challenge program.
• $250,250 to Corporation de l’École Polytechnique de Montréal to develop economically viable and environmentally friendly technologies for recycling automotive polymer components, through the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster support program.
• $249,999 to McMaster University to develop new optical detection systems and signal processing approaches for atmospheric fluctuations for high bandwidth satellite-based optical communications that will enable faster internet connections, as part of the NRC’s High-Throughput and Secure Networks Challenge program.

“The investments announced today will advance disruptive technologies with the potential to address pressing challenges facing Canadians today,” said NRC president Mitch Davies.