More than $25 million in support unlocked for strategic research projects at Dal

To ensure a series of ground-breaking Dalhousie research projects have the resources they need to go forward, the governments of Nova Scotia and Canada have come together to provide support. Over the past year, the federal government committed more than $12.6 million in funds through the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support key projects. Now Research Nova Scotia has stepped up to match the funds required by the federal government to trigger their investment.

With the gates holding federal research dollars now open, a swell of government support is flowing to research focused on ocean science, clean tech, climate change, energy storage, cancer prevention, new materials production and much more.

“It is gratifying to know that our government funders see the value and promise of investing in research that has the potential to make a profound difference in the lives of people locally, nationally and around the globe,” says Alice Aiken, Dalhousie’s vice president research and innovation. “For research to have an impact it takes shared vision and dedication to nurturing ideas into innovations. With support from our partners, our researchers are prepared to illuminate our world and change if for the better.”

Together with support from Research Nova Scotia, the investments will fund important new research directions through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Innovation Fund and new equipment and technology to support key research through the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

Innovation Fund/Research Nova Scotia funding will support projects focused on:

• Understanding the rapid changes taking place in the Northwest Atlantic.
  
  
• Grappling with the risk of cancer associated with arsenic and radon exposure.
  
  
• Creating breakthroughs in solar energy conversion and storage.
  
  
• Using artificial intelligence to study ocean wildlife and our impact on it.
  
  
• Creating advanced ceramics materials for use in bio-implants, ocean monitoring, smart buildings, and solar energy.  

Read more about these projects and the researchers pursuing them via Dal News: At the forefront: Government of Canada invests in Dal researchers pushing the boundaries

John R. Evans Leaders Fund/Research Nova Scotia funding will support projects focused on:

• Customizing polymers for use in pharmaceuticals, water treatment, oil recovery, and more.
  
  
• Understanding how linguistic and social background impact language acquisition.
  
  
• Improving the effectiveness, impact, safety, and cost of lithium-ion batteries.
  
  
• Enhancing our understanding of heatwave and drought development.
  
  
• Constructing the world’s first instrument able to provide real-time analysis of gases generated during charging and discharging of advanced battery cells.

Read more about these projects and the researchers pursuing them via Dal News: Leading‑edge projects from Dal receive investment from Government of Canada

Research Nova Scotia will also contribute over $700,000 in funding needed to match federal funds to support Dalhousie researchers working on projects led by other universities, including research focused on improving the quality of drinking water produced by forests, led by the University of Waterloo, and research to better understand the human aging process, led by McMaster University.