WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg has received funding grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) that will enable approximately $2.2 million in research projects. UWinnipeg was awarded more than $1.3 million through the Discovery Grants Program, NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships — along with a three-year $965,000 Subatomic Physics Discovery Grant awarded to Dr. Jeff Martin for his Ultracold Neutrons research at TRIUMF.
“We are pleased and excited to be getting these funds to help us further our research objectives,” said Dr. Jino Distasio, Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation. “These grants promote and support our research abilities. We are proud to contribute to Canada’s pool of expert research, fostering excellence and providing a stimulating environment for our students and faculty. We are delighted with the research capacity of our undergraduate and graduate students, along with our faculty members.”
Discovery Grants were awarded to researchers over a five-year period and total $1,030,000. UWinnipeg faculty receiving Discovery Grants this year are: Joshua Hollet (Chemistry) for Phase-Space Natural Orbital Functional Theory; Charles Wong (Chemistry) for Analytical and Chemical Tools for Elucidating Fate Processes Controlling Exposure to Emerging Environmental Pollutants; Shakhawat Hossain (Mathematics & Statistics) for Shrinkage, Pretest, and Penalty Estimation Methods and Their Applications; Gabor Kunstatter (Physics) for Quantum Theory Near the Planck Scale; and Melanie Martin (Physics) for Probing Tissue Structures Using Short Diffusion Times.
The NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctorate level was awarded to two students: Zenon Czenze (Biology) and Phillip Grayson (Biology). Each student will receive $35,000 for three years, totaling $210,000. Three students received the $17,500 Master’s level scholarship: Craig Hutton (Psychology), Trevor Vincent (Physics) and Alana Wilcox (Biology) — a total of $52,500 for their continued studies and research. The NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship Master’s level, worth $17,300 for one year, went to Suzanne Gomes (Biology).
NSERC is a federal agency aimed at making Canada a country of discoverers and innovators, to the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 28,000 students and post-doctoral fellows in their advanced studies. The Council promotes discovery by funding more than 11,800 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
