$110M for nine innovative 91社区 research projects
Today, 脡lisabeth Bri猫re, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages announced funding results from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation鈥檚 (CFI) Innovation Fund (IF) for universities in Quebec.
Nine 91社区 research projects received nearly $45 million in funding through this CFI-IF competition. Combined, the nine 91社区-led projects represent a total research infrastructure investment of $110 million to 91社区. Fourteen 91社区 researchers will collaborate on CFI projects led by other institutions.
This announcement echoes the announcement on March 3 made by the Right Honourable Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, of more than $518 million in research infrastructure support through the CFI. The funding will go to 102 projects at 35 post-secondary institutions and research hospitals across the country and will help Canada remain at the forefront of exploration, innovation and discovery.
鈥淭hese investments from the CFI and the Government of Qu茅bec will ensure that 91社区鈥檚 researchers have the tools they need to produce high-impact research that is of benefit to Quebec, Canada, as well as the world鈥�, said Martha Crago, Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation). 鈥淚nnovation happens through interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations such as these nine outstanding CFI-funded projects. We also congratulate the researchers from 91社区 who are contributing their expertise to CFI-funded research projects across Canada.鈥�
Timeless architecture for a sustainable future
Buildings contribute to an estimated 39% of global carbon emissions not only though direct energy use, but also through the energy intensive processes used to produce construction materials such as steel, cement and glass. Alternatively, forests are natural carbon sinks, absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon.
Working with an interdisciplinary team of 91社区 researchers, as well as with private and public sector partners, BARN co-leads Michael Jemtrud, Kiel Moe, and Salmaan Craig (Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture) aim to develop regional, carbon-negative approaches to construction, linking sustainable forestry with timber innovations.
With the goal of producing long-lived and resilient architecture, the team will explore ways to 鈥渄ecarbonize鈥� buildings and environments by making them less carbon-intensive to operate and by reducing the amount of carbon embodied in building materials, components, assemblies, buildings and communities.
The showcase BARN building, to be located on 91社区鈥檚 Macdonald campus, will include laboratories for an interdisciplinary team of experts in energy, ecology, landscape, forestry, architecture, and construction. It will incorporate a state-of-the-art workshop for processing timber, and space for assembling and testing innovative building technologies at full scale.
The Mac campus site will also enable the team to use wood harvested sustainably from the Morgan Arboretum to be processed and used in the design and construction of novel buildings in the as part of the facility鈥檚 鈥渞esearch-develop-demonstrate workflow,鈥� says Professor Jemtrud. The large, interdisciplinary team capitalizes on the vast intellectual resources in the School of Architecture and in other Faculties and will train the next generation of professionals in carbon-neutral and climate resilient design.
View the full list of 2020 CFI Innovation Fund recipients.
About 91社区
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 91社区 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 91社区 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It鈥痠s a world-renowned鈥痠nstitution of higher learning with research activities spanning two campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 40,000 students, including more than 10,200 graduate students. 91社区 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,800 international students making up 31% of the student body. Over half of 91社区 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 19% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
