Backgrounder: Province invests $3.6m in awards to UVic researchers
Dr. Peter Baskerville (history) is the western director
of the Canada Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) project, a national
scholarly effort providing sophisticated tools to help researchers expand
our understanding of Canada’s development throughout the 20th century.
The project involves scholars at seven Canadian universities as well as
IBM and Statistics Canada. It will create public use databases of the 1911,
1921, 1931, 1941 and 1951 national censuses. These data sets will be of
vital use to researchers from many disciplines investigating the nature
and evolution of Canadian society. ($774,008)
Dr. Michael Best (English) is principal investigator for the UVic node of the national Text Analysis Portal for Research (TAPoR) project, which involves six university centres. The UVic TAPoR centre will contribute its considerable expertise in developing electronically embedded research tools to illuminate the meaning of multimedia texts. UVic research initiatives associated with TAPoR include Best’s Internet Shakespeare Editions, the work of UVic linguists to preserve endangered Native languages, and providing wide access to the world-class collection of records of the international co-operative movement held by UVic’s B.C. Institute for Co-operative Studies. ($388,060)
Dr. Sadik Dost (mechanical engineering), who holds the Canada Research Chair in Semiconductor Crystal Growth, is developing high quality alloy semiconducting bulk single crystals. He will use the grant to construct a new crystal growth room. Presently, of the two growth rooms at UVic only one has hydrogen capability, which is essential for removing oxygen from the growth cell. Dost has been studying crystal growth since 1989 and is considered a leader in the liquid phase electroepitaxy technique. ($295,500)
Dr. Ted Darcie’s (electrical & computer engineering) revolutionary work in analog lightwave systems has helped to transform the cable-television industry. Darcie—who holds the Canada Research Chair in Optical Systems for Communications, Imaging and Sensing—will construct and equip an optical systems engineering laboratory at the UVic faculty of engineering. ($272,500)
Dr. Byoung-Chul Choi (physics) will investigate magnetic phenomena and new magnetic materials and structures. Of particular interest are the means by which magnetic properties change when they reach the limits of miniaturization and time scales. The issue has implications for the emerging magnetic memory storage industry, worth $150-billion annually. Equipment for the study includes an ultra-fast magnetic microscope and a vacuum system for creating magnetic films only a few atomic layers thick. ($268,387)
Dr. Ben Koop (biology/centre for biomedical research), who holds a Canada Research Chair in Genomics and Molecular Biology, will create a genomics facility to examine gene expression patterns from a variety of samples. The ability to evaluate changes in gene expression in response to infection, disease, natural and altered environments, stress, and climatic and geographic conditions, etc., has relevance in areas such as medicine, forestry, fisheries, wildlife management, environmental assessment and pollution control. This new facility will be unique on Vancouver Island, benefiting researchers in government agencies, hospitals and biotechnology companies. ($246,797)
Dr. Réal Roy (biology) will equip a lab for studying the ecology of bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic environments. The lab is essential for carrying out research under the NSERC Industrial Research Chair Program on Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology, which focuses on the ecological management of watersheds. As a soil microbiologist, Roy’s goal is to learn more about the bacterial organisms that make dirt their home, and the role they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Bacteria are key to understanding and solving environmental problems such as ozone depletion and greenhouse gases, nutrient contamination, and outbreaks of waterborne pathogens. ($234,574)
Dr. Steve Gibson’s (visual arts) Enabling Interactive Futures (EIF) project combines the talents of several researchers to develop multimedia content over high-speed networks. The EIF system is extremely fast—delivering data at a bandwidth of 10 Gbps (billions of bits per second)—and more flexible than the current “one-way” data delivery systems. It allows for delivery and control of audio, video and lighting data over networks with applications in the technical staging of performances in music, theatre and the visual arts. ($222,794)
Dr. Sara Ellison (astronomy) will support her work in observational cosmology—the study of the distant universe, including young galaxies, black holes and quasars. The BCKDF grant will also help to strengthen the department’s computing power in order to process the vast amounts of data produced by instruments like the MegaCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. Ellison takes up her Canada Research Chair appointment at UVic in August. ($173,204)
Dr. Maycira Costa (geography) wants to improve the methods satellites use to monitor the quality of inland and coastal water. Currently, researchers and resource managers must go into the field and collect samples to analyze the various parameters that indicate the quality of water—an expensive process. Improving the abilities of satellites will give researchers a better understanding of the impacts of forestry, agriculture, aquaculture and urban development in Canadian inland and coastal waters. ($164,303)
Dr. Matthew Moffitt’s (chemistry) research is in the field of nanoscale materials (materials with structural features one billionth of a metre in length), an area that is growing because of the need for new materials for computing, data storage, and information transfer. Moffitt is exploring the ways that polymer-coated metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles spontaneously assemble themselves. Through this understanding, he will develop structural “control” over a wide range of length scales and varying degrees of structural hierarchy—useful because controlling the spatial organization of nanoparticles is a critical issue for specific optical and electronic applications. ($137,907)
Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe (biology/earth & ocean sciences), who holds a Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research, will purchase a new robotic arm and control system for ROPOS, a remotely operated deep submersible vehicle used by scientists to make observations, collect samples and set up research equipment up to 5,000 metres below the ocean surface. The arm, which is part of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility in Sidney, BC will play a key role in Tunnicliffe’s Canada Research Chair program in deep ocean research. The chair’s research focus is on the biodiversity of deep sea ecosystems and on VENUS, a major new project investigating water column, seafloor and sub-seafloor phenomena along the southern B.C. coast. ($125,000)
Dr. Alisdair Boraston (biochemistry & molecular biology), who holds a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Interactions, will equip a state-of-the-art facility for the study of carbohydrate-protein interactions. These interactions are critical to our understanding of processes such as microbial infection, recycling of plant carbohydrates, cell development, carcinogenesis, immune response and reproduction. The ultimate goal is to manipulate carbohydrate-protein interactions to our benefit, resulting in new ways to treat infections, improved enzymes for the food and textile industries, and better methods for alternative fuel production. ($119,652)
Dr. Arthur Kroker (political science)—an internationally-recognized futurist, “cyber philosopher,” and UVic’s Canada Research Chair in Technology, Culture and Theory—will establish the Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture (PACTAC). It will offer network support for collaborative research projects focusing on creative applications of information technology, ethical issues in biotechnology, and an examination of the effects of information technology on contemporary culture. PACTAC will be utilized by faculty and graduate students involved in the Centre’s interdisciplinary research activities. ($99,844)
Dr. Cornelis “Case” van Kooten (economics), who is UVic’s Canada Research Chair in Environmental Economics, will purchase computer equipment that extends the university’s ability to conduct socioeconomic and business analysis of climate-change modelling. Often an alternative land or water use that initially seems cost-effective and sustainable has economic or environmental implications that aren’t immediately evident. Van Kooten’s computer models can explore all aspects of various scenarios in advance, providing policy makers with the information they need to make sound decisions. ($62,567)
Dr. Subhasis Nandi (electrical & computer engineering) will establish a test and measurement facility for high performance electric drives and their fault diagnosis. Since electric drives are used in almost any industry, the infrastructure will play a major role in training highly qualified personnel. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working with the setup will receive theoretical and practical research exposure not only for job opportunities in non-academic research laboratories and industries but also for academic positions. ($62,000)
Dr. Michael Best (English) is principal investigator for the UVic node of the national Text Analysis Portal for Research (TAPoR) project, which involves six university centres. The UVic TAPoR centre will contribute its considerable expertise in developing electronically embedded research tools to illuminate the meaning of multimedia texts. UVic research initiatives associated with TAPoR include Best’s Internet Shakespeare Editions, the work of UVic linguists to preserve endangered Native languages, and providing wide access to the world-class collection of records of the international co-operative movement held by UVic’s B.C. Institute for Co-operative Studies. ($388,060)
Dr. Sadik Dost (mechanical engineering), who holds the Canada Research Chair in Semiconductor Crystal Growth, is developing high quality alloy semiconducting bulk single crystals. He will use the grant to construct a new crystal growth room. Presently, of the two growth rooms at UVic only one has hydrogen capability, which is essential for removing oxygen from the growth cell. Dost has been studying crystal growth since 1989 and is considered a leader in the liquid phase electroepitaxy technique. ($295,500)
Dr. Ted Darcie’s (electrical & computer engineering) revolutionary work in analog lightwave systems has helped to transform the cable-television industry. Darcie—who holds the Canada Research Chair in Optical Systems for Communications, Imaging and Sensing—will construct and equip an optical systems engineering laboratory at the UVic faculty of engineering. ($272,500)
Dr. Byoung-Chul Choi (physics) will investigate magnetic phenomena and new magnetic materials and structures. Of particular interest are the means by which magnetic properties change when they reach the limits of miniaturization and time scales. The issue has implications for the emerging magnetic memory storage industry, worth $150-billion annually. Equipment for the study includes an ultra-fast magnetic microscope and a vacuum system for creating magnetic films only a few atomic layers thick. ($268,387)
Dr. Ben Koop (biology/centre for biomedical research), who holds a Canada Research Chair in Genomics and Molecular Biology, will create a genomics facility to examine gene expression patterns from a variety of samples. The ability to evaluate changes in gene expression in response to infection, disease, natural and altered environments, stress, and climatic and geographic conditions, etc., has relevance in areas such as medicine, forestry, fisheries, wildlife management, environmental assessment and pollution control. This new facility will be unique on Vancouver Island, benefiting researchers in government agencies, hospitals and biotechnology companies. ($246,797)
Dr. Réal Roy (biology) will equip a lab for studying the ecology of bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic environments. The lab is essential for carrying out research under the NSERC Industrial Research Chair Program on Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology, which focuses on the ecological management of watersheds. As a soil microbiologist, Roy’s goal is to learn more about the bacterial organisms that make dirt their home, and the role they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Bacteria are key to understanding and solving environmental problems such as ozone depletion and greenhouse gases, nutrient contamination, and outbreaks of waterborne pathogens. ($234,574)
Dr. Steve Gibson’s (visual arts) Enabling Interactive Futures (EIF) project combines the talents of several researchers to develop multimedia content over high-speed networks. The EIF system is extremely fast—delivering data at a bandwidth of 10 Gbps (billions of bits per second)—and more flexible than the current “one-way” data delivery systems. It allows for delivery and control of audio, video and lighting data over networks with applications in the technical staging of performances in music, theatre and the visual arts. ($222,794)
Dr. Sara Ellison (astronomy) will support her work in observational cosmology—the study of the distant universe, including young galaxies, black holes and quasars. The BCKDF grant will also help to strengthen the department’s computing power in order to process the vast amounts of data produced by instruments like the MegaCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. Ellison takes up her Canada Research Chair appointment at UVic in August. ($173,204)
Dr. Maycira Costa (geography) wants to improve the methods satellites use to monitor the quality of inland and coastal water. Currently, researchers and resource managers must go into the field and collect samples to analyze the various parameters that indicate the quality of water—an expensive process. Improving the abilities of satellites will give researchers a better understanding of the impacts of forestry, agriculture, aquaculture and urban development in Canadian inland and coastal waters. ($164,303)
Dr. Matthew Moffitt’s (chemistry) research is in the field of nanoscale materials (materials with structural features one billionth of a metre in length), an area that is growing because of the need for new materials for computing, data storage, and information transfer. Moffitt is exploring the ways that polymer-coated metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles spontaneously assemble themselves. Through this understanding, he will develop structural “control” over a wide range of length scales and varying degrees of structural hierarchy—useful because controlling the spatial organization of nanoparticles is a critical issue for specific optical and electronic applications. ($137,907)
Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe (biology/earth & ocean sciences), who holds a Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research, will purchase a new robotic arm and control system for ROPOS, a remotely operated deep submersible vehicle used by scientists to make observations, collect samples and set up research equipment up to 5,000 metres below the ocean surface. The arm, which is part of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility in Sidney, BC will play a key role in Tunnicliffe’s Canada Research Chair program in deep ocean research. The chair’s research focus is on the biodiversity of deep sea ecosystems and on VENUS, a major new project investigating water column, seafloor and sub-seafloor phenomena along the southern B.C. coast. ($125,000)
Dr. Alisdair Boraston (biochemistry & molecular biology), who holds a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Interactions, will equip a state-of-the-art facility for the study of carbohydrate-protein interactions. These interactions are critical to our understanding of processes such as microbial infection, recycling of plant carbohydrates, cell development, carcinogenesis, immune response and reproduction. The ultimate goal is to manipulate carbohydrate-protein interactions to our benefit, resulting in new ways to treat infections, improved enzymes for the food and textile industries, and better methods for alternative fuel production. ($119,652)
Dr. Arthur Kroker (political science)—an internationally-recognized futurist, “cyber philosopher,” and UVic’s Canada Research Chair in Technology, Culture and Theory—will establish the Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture (PACTAC). It will offer network support for collaborative research projects focusing on creative applications of information technology, ethical issues in biotechnology, and an examination of the effects of information technology on contemporary culture. PACTAC will be utilized by faculty and graduate students involved in the Centre’s interdisciplinary research activities. ($99,844)
Dr. Cornelis “Case” van Kooten (economics), who is UVic’s Canada Research Chair in Environmental Economics, will purchase computer equipment that extends the university’s ability to conduct socioeconomic and business analysis of climate-change modelling. Often an alternative land or water use that initially seems cost-effective and sustainable has economic or environmental implications that aren’t immediately evident. Van Kooten’s computer models can explore all aspects of various scenarios in advance, providing policy makers with the information they need to make sound decisions. ($62,567)
Dr. Subhasis Nandi (electrical & computer engineering) will establish a test and measurement facility for high performance electric drives and their fault diagnosis. Since electric drives are used in almost any industry, the infrastructure will play a major role in training highly qualified personnel. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working with the setup will receive theoretical and practical research exposure not only for job opportunities in non-academic research laboratories and industries but also for academic positions. ($62,000)
Media contacts
Maria Lironi (UVic communications) at 250-721-6139 or lironim@uvic.ca
Jason Keenan (caucus communications) at 250-387-8589
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