Three McMaster research projects have been awarded a combined $35.6M in federal funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Innovation Fund, supporting cutting-edge nuclear, materials and archaeological science research.
The funding is part of a larger investment announced today by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly. It supports 92 research infrastructure projects at 32 higher education institutions across the country.
Gianni Parise, McMaster’s vice-president, Research, thanked the government for the investment.
“Our researchers are driving bold, impactful research discoveries that bolster Canadian industry and national security, advance materials research and clean energy technology, and improve our knowledge of human resilience in the past,” he says.
“Together, these projects will help strengthen Canada’s leadership on the global research stage and bring social, economic and health benefits to Canadians.”
Here are the three innovative projects that received funding:
Building the Canadian Semiconducting and Critical Mineral Supply Chain through Imaging and Metrology
An investment of $15.5 million will support the expansion of the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM).
Nabil Bassim, a professor of Materials Science and Engineering, will lead a team of researchers using high-powered microscopes to study critical minerals, electronic waste, semiconductor devices and novel electronic and optical films, in support of the Canadian semiconductor value chain.
The investment will provide CCEM with new capabilities in electron microscopy and mass spectrometry, and support operations, staffing and training at CCEM.
Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering, Part 2
Bruce Gaulin, Distinguished University Professor and Brockhouse Chair in the Physics of Materials, and Pat Clancy, assistant professor of Physics, are co-leads on this pan-Canadian project. It has been awarded $13.5 million to build on a 2020 project that helped establish the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory (CNBL) at McMaster.
Neutron beams are an essential tool for materials research and innovation, advancing solutions that tackle environmental, health and information age challenges. This project will expand CNBL by building a neutron imaging station at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor, securing access to complementary neutron infrastructure in Europe, and launching a study for an innovative compact accelerator-based neutron source.
McMaster Archaeological Centre for Minimally Invasive/Non-Destructive Science (MACMINDS)
Associate professors of Anthropology Tracy Prowse and Andrew Roddick are co-leads on this project, awarded $6.6 million.
MACMINDS will advance ethical and innovative archaeological science that foregrounds community collaboration. It will house portable field equipment for site characterization, high-resolution mapping and core sampling to detect human interactions with terrestrial and aquatic landscapes.
The investment will support ground-breaking research at MACMINDS on human resilience in the past – advancing knowledge of past lifeways, ecological health, environmental stewardship, health and disease.