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File photo taken at the University of Lethbridge. (Lethbridge News Now)

U of L researchers receive federal funding

Jun 23, 2022 | 11:23 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Canada has announced funding awards through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Researchers from the University of Lethbridge’s (U of L) Departments of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics and Astronomy are benefitting from the federal grants. Researchers from across the country are getting the funding to continue to lead programs that study a wide variety of natural science and engineering disciplines. These include projects focused on climate change, chemistry, biology, mathematics and statistics, computer science and artificial intelligence, and engineering.

The following U of L programs are receiving NSERC funding:

  • Dr. Yllias Chali, Mathematics & Computer Science, Text Summarization and Question Generation Models — $24,000 (5 years)
  • Dr. Michael Gerken, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Donor-Stabilized Fluorido Cations and New Tungsten-Based Weakly Coordinating Anions — $62,000 (5 years)
  • Dr. Jean-Denys Hamel, Chemistry & Biochemistry, New Catalytic Methodologies for the Synthesis of Organofluorine Compounds — $25,000 (5 years)
  • Dr. Jean-Denys Hamel, Chemistry & Biochemistry, New Catalytic Methodologies for the Synthesis of Organofluorine Compounds — $12,500 (1 year)
  • Dr. Trushar Patel, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Understanding Communications Between Viral RNAs and Human Proteins — $40,000 (5 years)
  • Dr. Marc Roussel, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Critical Renewal of an Obsolete Computational Biochemistry Suite at the University of Lethbridge — $90,050 (1 year)
  • Dr. Mark Walton, Physics & Astronomy, Phase space Quantum Mechanics and the Quantum-Classical Relation — $24,000 (5 years)

Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne said, “discovery is the foundation for all advancements.”

“Through this major investment in some of Canada’s most promising and innovative researchers we are supporting scientists and students to become global leaders in their field.”

Champagne continued, “by helping to expand the frontiers of science, we are investing in a better society and a brighter future for Canadians.”

Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge vice-president of research says the continued success of applicants from the local post-secondary is indicative of the innovative environment nurtured by faculty.

McMartin stated, “when you have world-class faculty dedicated to their craft, and dedicated to their students and discovery, it fuels their own research programs and inspires colleagues to push for these funding opportunities as well.”

“The success of these researchers continues to advance the reputation of their programs within their respective fields and opens up even greater opportunities for their students, trainees and further innovation down the road.”

More information on NSERC is available at the Government of Canada website.