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Laurentian University researchers secure $1.3M in new funding

Laurentian University researchers secure $1.3M in new funding

Faculty awarded NSERC 2015 Discovery grants

JUNE 22, 2015 – Seven Laurentian University faculty members and three graduate students have won new research grants and scholarships awarded by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). 

 

Total funding awarded to Laurentian University researchers amounts to $1,329,500.

 

The funds are awarded through competition for NSERC’s Discovery Grants, Discovery Accelerator Supplements, Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, NSERC Postrgraduate Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships.  The 2015 competition results were announced today at at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario.

 

“A key pillar of our government’s updated Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy is ensuring Canada develops, attracts and retains the world’s most talented researchers. Today’s investment in more than 3, 800 researchers at 70 universities across the country ensures Canada has a broad base of talented men and women whose research continues to push the boundaries of knowledge, creates jobs and opportunities while improving the quality of life of Canadians,”  said Canada’s Minister of State (Science and Technology), Ed Holder.

 

 “We are extremely proud of the research profile achieved by our Laurentian faculty and graduate students,” said Laurentian University Vice-President, Research, Dr. Rui Wang.  “Our success in winning NSERC funding is evidence of  the high-calibre research being conducted in Biology, Medicine, Engineering, Earth Sciences and Human Kinetics, and we congratulate all of our award recipients.”

 

Laurentian faculty awarded NSERC Discovery Grants are:

  • Dr. Douglas Boreham, Faculty of Medicine: $170,000 (Biological Mechanisms Induced by Low and Ultra Low doses of Ionizing Radiation)
  • Dr. Thomas Johnston, Department of Biology: $105,000 (Individual specialization and the trophic niche of aquatic consumers)
  • Dr. Daniel Kontak, Department of Earth Sciences: $110,000 (Chemical fingerprinting of hydrothermal ore deposit systems)
  • Dr. Tammy Eger, School of Human Kinetics: $110,000 (Modeling human response to foot-transmitted vibration)
  • Dr. William Lievers, School of Engineering, $110,000 (Measuring and modelling the mechanical and failure behaviour of bone)
  • Dr. Junfeng Zhang, School of Engineering, $22,000 (Blood Flows and Blood-Vessel Interactions in the Microcirculation)
  • Dr. Zhibin Ye, School of Engineering, $200,000 (Developing semicrystalline star polyethylenes and advanced polyethylene ionomers)

 

In addition to his five-year Discovery Grant, Dr. Zhibin Ye was also awarded a Discovery Accelerator Supplement in support of his research, worth $120,000 over three years.

Three graduate students have also won graduate scholarships worth between $21,000 and $35,000 per year:

  • Nicolas Rouleau, three-year Postgraduate Scholarship (Biology)
  • Nirosha Murugan, three-year Postgraduate Scholarship (Biology)
  • James Baxter-Gilbert, three-year Canada Graduate Scholarship (Biology)

Laurentian creates new faculties in health, education and graduate studies

Laurentian creates new faculties in health, education and graduate studies

Senate has approved a new Faculty structure, re-organizing and aligning many of the University’s schools and departments.

March 19, 2014 - The Laurentian University Senate approved a new Faculty structure, re-organizing and aligning many of the University’s schools and departments.

 

The existing Faculty of Professional Schools will be replaced by a Faculty of Health and a Faculty of Education. The existing Faculty of Science and Engineering will be renamed the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture. The Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Humanities will be merged into a Faculty of Arts. The School of Graduate Studies becomes a Faculty of Graduate Studies.

 

“This re-alignment of some of our academic programs will help to promote interdisciplinary studies, and the development of new programs and new program options in the future,” said Vice-President, Academic and Provost, Dr. Robert Kerr.

 

The creation of a Faculty of Health is one of the outcomes identified in the University’s 2012-2017 Strategic Plan, which called for professional health programs to be united into one Faculty to position Laurentian as a leader in inter-professional health education and research. Today’s decisions followed extensive consultations within the University community since early 2012.

 

The new Faculty of Health will include the School of Human Kinetics, the School of Indigenous Relations, the School of Nursing, the School of Rural and Northern Health, the School of Social Work, the Midwifery program, the Orthophonie program (Speech Pathology in French) and Huntington University’s Department of Gerontology.

 

The renamed Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture will feature the departments of Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Earth Sciences, Forensic Science, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, the Bharti School of Engineering endowed in October 2011, the new School of Architecture which welcomed its charter class of 70 students in September 2013 and the new School of Environment created earlier this year.

 

The new Faculty of Education will feature the English School of Education and the École des sciences de l’éducation.

 

The new Faculty of Arts will feature the departments of Economics, English, Études françaises, Geography, History, Law and Justice, Modern Languages and Literatures, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology, the new School of Northern and Community Studies, the M.A. program in Interdisciplinary Humanities, the PhD program in Human Studies as well as most departments from Laurentian’s federated and affiliated universities (Classical Studies, Communication publique, Communication Studies, Folklore et ethnologie, Indigenous Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Theatre Arts, Women’s Studies).

 

The new Faculty of Graduate Studies reflects the growing importance of the University’s 38 master’s and PhD programs. Applications to graduate programs are up 60% for Fall 2014. Two new master’s programs are being introduced this fall: a M.A. in Indigenous Relations and a Maîtrise en sciences infirmières (M.Sc. Nursing in French).

 

No changes have been made to the Faculty of Management, the Faculty of Medicine (Northern Ontario School of Medicine) and the Goodman School of Mines.

 

The Faculty of Management will continue to feature the School of Commerce and Administration and the School of Sports Administration.

 

The Faculty of Medicine (Northern Ontario School of Medicine) continues to offer the undergraduate medical education program, postgraduate residency programs, continuing education and professional development, and interprofessional education programs.

 

The Goodman School of Mines launched in 2013 aims at expanding interdisciplinary majors and minors to enhance the skills of future professionals in mineral exploration and mining, and drive the creation of world-class executive programs in the five key areas of the mining cycle: from mineral exploration to project feasibility, mine development, mine closure and monitoring.