Senate Research Report - April 2024

  Research News鈥 

CFI Innovation Fund Results

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) invests in infrastructure that researchers need to innovate and push the boundaries of knowledge, to support world鈥揷lass research, strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for Canadians. Large-scale infrastructure project proposals much indicate how research capacity will be increased and costs must be greater than $1 million.

The 2023 CFI Innovation Fund competition results were recently announced, with three large-scale infrastructure projects funded at Queen鈥檚 totaling $18.7 million. The funded researchers are:

  • Drs. Lynne Postovit and Stephen Archer (Queen鈥檚 Health Sciences) received over $5 million for infrastructure needs at the Translational Institute of Medicine Core Facility (TIME Core);
  • Dr. Mark Daymond (Smith Engineering) was awarded $8.6 million to develop Microscopes and Ions for Small Modular Reactors; and
  • Dr. Stephen Lougheed (Faculty of Arts and Science) will receive $4.6 million for the Environmental & Climate Change Observatory of Ontario, in collaboration with the St. Lawrence River Institute.

Learn more about CFI-funded infrastructure at Queen's

Special NSERC Call Awards $2.5 Million to Queen鈥檚 Researchers

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) launched a call to align with the National Quantum Strategy and strengthen Canada鈥檚 capacity in quantum research and innovation. Through various calls for proposals, Alliance quantum grants are awarded to researchers that advance the missions outlined in the National Quantum Strategy, through the development of quantum technology areas.

At Queen鈥檚, Dr. Nir Rotenburg and co-applicant Dr. Stephen Hughes (Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) have been awarded $2.5 million from NSERC for their project 鈥淨uantum dot photonics for large-scale entanglement generation鈥. They will partner with . NSERC Alliance Quantum grants are 100% NSERC funded and require one partner organization to actively play a role in the project and support it through in-kind contributions.

Queen鈥檚 Researchers Receive Ontario Early Research Award

Queen鈥檚 Researchers Receive Ontario Early Research Award
The Ontario Government awards new researchers, working at publicly funded institutions, with funds to build a research team. Researchers can receive up to $140K in funds from the program. This year, six researchers at Queen鈥檚 received the award:

  • Dr. Diane Orihel (Environmental Studies)
  • Dr. Suraj Persaud (Mechanical and Materials Engineering)
  • Dr. Colleen Renihan (Drama and Music)
  • Dr. Nir Rotenberg (Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy)
  • Dr. Bhavin Shastri (Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy)
  • Dr. Kevin Stamplecoskie (Chemistry)

New Tri-Agency Guidance on Research Security

The federal granting agencies, in their commitment to providing the research community with the most up-to-date information and best practices to safeguard their research, have released the publication of new Tri-Agency Guidance on Research Security.

This new webpage provides guidance on the implementation of research security measures by the Government of Canada that will enable researchers to mitigate security risks in research.

Learn more about Research Security at Queen's

Updates on Research Ethics at Queen鈥檚

Research Ethics at Queen鈥檚 now offers an online hub providing valuable resources, including weekly virtual drop-in sessions, to proactively help the research community through the ethics application process. Members of the ethics team aim to answer your question in five (5) minutes, or will arrange a separate meeting to help you navigate the process. Accessible and user-friendly resources are also offered online, such as guidelines, templates and standard operating procedures (SOPs). For example, approval letters and updated application forms have been developed and presented. These updates represent a commitment to transparency and accountability, to encourage the research community through a streamlined ethics application process.

Learn more about Research Ethics at Queen's

Consider signing up for the weekly Funding Opportunities, Events and Updates Newsletter for information on upcoming grants, training and workshops.

  Recent Honours and Awards

  • Kristin Moriah (English) was honoured with the Bibliographical Society of Canada鈥檚 Marie Tremaine Fellowship
  • John Smol (Biology) was awarded the 2024 ASLO A.C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Christopher Spencer (DBMS) received the Terry Fox New Investigator Award
  • Jean Hutchinson (Geological Sciences and Engineering) was awarded the Women in Mining Canada Trailblazer Award
  • Ram Murty (Mathematics and Statistics) was honoured with a 2024 CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize