Three U of T Engineering projects have been awarded over $10 million in total from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
The awards – to Professors Omer Gulder (UTIAS) , Charles Mims (ChemE) and Ted Sargent (ECE), Vice-Dean, Research – are among $33 million in grants awarded to U of T research projects by CFI.
Professor Gulder was awarded $2,040,000 under the New Initiatives Fund program for a high-pressure, blow-down facility for gas turbine combustion research. “The anticipated advancement of gas turbine technology will directly benefit aircraft propulsion systems as well as industrial energy production,” said Professor Gulder. “The resulting knowledge and technologies will improve the quality of life through reduced pollutant emissions and fuel consumption, and will enhance the global competitiveness of Canadian gas turbine industries.”
Professor Mims was awarded $4,601,343 from the Leading Edge Fund for the Ontario Centre for Characterization of Advanced Materials. OCCAM is a collaborative effort between researchers from U of T Engineering’s Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering departments, with the support of more than 20 industry partners and spin-off companies.
“Our primary purpose is to provide the latest tools in the investigation of advanced materials that enable technologies vital to Canadian economic competitiveness and quality of life,” said Professor Mims. “Understanding materials properties and their relationship to performance is the key factor in ensuring the longevity and safety of technological areas such as renewable energy, and health and biomedical devices.”
Professor Sargent’s grant from the Leading Edge Fund, worth $3,412,588, is for research into nanomaterials for energy. “This remarkable investment will support world-class research at U of T,” he said. “It cuts across faculties, engaging collaborative partnerships in Engineering and Arts and Science. The funding will enable us to take the next step up – shaping and investigating matter at the nanoscale in order to meet the urgent need for cost-effective, efficient renewable energy harvesting technologies. This grant will also help to dramatically curtail our energy consumption through researching new pathways to high-efficiency lighting.”
The grants to U of T and its partner hospitals represent 20 per cent of the national total.
“Congratulations to each of the faculty members being supported through this announcement,” said Professor Paul Young, U of T’s Vice President (Research and Innovation). “They will be pursuing basic and applied research in areas that will improve our lives and contribute to Canadian prosperity. We are deeply grateful to the CFI for this investment.”
Created by the Government of Canada in 1997, CFI strives to build Canada’s capacity to undertake world-class research and technology development through investments in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions.
