August 17, 2009

Early Researcher Awards

Ontario is providing $11.5 million to support 82 emerging researchers and their teams at 21 institutions across Ontario. Each lead researcher will receive $140,000 through the Early Researcher Awards program.

Perimeter Institute

New Phases of Matter and String Theory
Lead researcher: Dr. Jaume  Gomis
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Over the last century, scientists have come to realize that gauge theories such as quantum chromodynamics (which encodes the force binding the constituents in atomic nuclei) describe all of the fundamental forces in nature and states of matter. One of the goals of theoretical physicists is to characterize the possible states of matter that could have been formed in the big bang, as well as the new states of matter that can be created in the lab and particle accelerators. Dr. Gomis and his team are developing new theoretical tools to study observables in gauge theories with the aim of identifying novel phases of matter. This work is contributing important theoretical tools, including some from string theory, aimed at predicting previously unknown states of matter, whichcan ultimately be investigated experimentally.

University of Waterloo

The Stagnation of Social Inequality: Causes and Consequences of a Motivated Bias to Preserve the Status Quo
Lead researcher: Dr. Aaron Charles Kay
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Do people view what “is” in society as what “should be”? Dr. Kay and his research team seek to demonstrate that they do – and that this tendency has important consequences for discrimination and inequality in Ontario. People who view what “is” as what “should be” could be prone to viewing inequalities that they see in society as representative of how society should be structured. This may make it difficult for women and other groups to achieve equality and pose a challenge to policies aimed at fostering a level playing field. This research will investigate strategies that address these challenges.

Innovative Processing and Microstructural Modeling of Advanced Aluminum Alloy Systems
Lead researcher: Dr. Shahrzad  Esmaeili
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Dr. Esmaeili’s research will provide innovative solutions to processing lightweight aluminum alloys with extraordinary quality for automotive body panel applications. Her proposed work is built upon a recent invention by her and her industrial collaborators to process aluminum sheet with excellent forming capability at high temperatures and the market introduction of novel multi-layer aluminum alloys. Dr. Esmaeli will use both experimental and theoretical investigations to understand the characteristics of these advanced materials and how they behave during processing. She will also develop a prediction tool for optimization of processes and structures of these new generations of automotive sheets. Dr. Esmaeili’s research results will lead to significant technological advancement and competitiveness in Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

Algorithm Design for Game-theoretic Environments and Settings with Uncertainty
Lead researcher: Dr. Chaitanya  Swamy
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Self-interested users shape many computer environments, including high-speed communication networks and the Internet. The Internet, for instance, is a knowledge base for users, Internet service providers and other entities, each with unique requirements. However, it is difficult to solve problems and make decisions based on the resultant imprecise data within these environments. Dr. Swamy’s research into algorithmic game theory and approximation algorithms could lead to state-of-the-art solutions for algorithm-design tasks in these environments, ranging from Internet routing to bandwidth allocation to search-engine advertising.

Maximizing Yield of Nanometer Circuits using a Design for Manufacturability Approach
Lead researcher: Dr. Mohab Hussein Anis
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

The silicon industry is now designing computer chips that are so small they are measured in nanometres, one-billionth of a metre. The device characteristics of these microscopically tiny chips, however, make them less predictable than larger models. As a result, they tend to run at lower speeds and exceed their power budget, which contributes to their failure. Dr. Anis will design circuits that incorporate an understanding of the manufacturing step that makes the device characteristics of these miniscule chips unpredictable. His goal is to develop a design framework and circuit techniques that maximize the yield of these nanometer chips. These findings hold the potential to fully exploit the performance of, and power management techniques, for these tiny chips, while meeting the highest levels of functional yield.

Improving Database Management in Cloud Computing Environments
Lead researcher: Dr. Ashraf Ismail Aboulnaga
Number of researchers benefiting: 5

Today’s modern innovations in science and business depend on cloud computing – an approach that allows thousands of interconnected computers to cooperate in complex analysis of large amounts of data. Cloud computing plays an increasingly important role in social networking, business intelligence, and scientific discovery. Dr. Aboulnaga’s research aims to speed up data analysis tasks in cloud computing environments, and enable these tasks to use the computing power of the cloud more effectively. This will accelerate the pace of data-driven innovation in sectors such as health, environment, manufacturing, and media.

Enhancing the Perceptual Experience in Network Visual Communications
Lead researcher: Dr. Zhou  Wang
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Ontario has the research and industrial capability in digital media and information and communications technologies to take a commanding lead in the global marketplace. Dr. Wang’s research into network visual communications exemplifies that capability. It aims to develop novel human vision-inspired technologies that can automatically assess and improve the visual quality of the video signals transmitted in networked communication environments. This leading-edge technology will significantly improve the visual quality of a wide range of applications such as Internet video, personal digital assistants, interactive video-on-demand, high-definition TV and digital cinema. This “made in Ontario” technology will create jobs in the information, multimedia and communication sector, and benefit Ontario’s economy as a whole.

Mathematical Foundations of Elliptic Curve Cryptography
Lead researcher: Dr. David Yen Jao
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Digital networking technologies will achieve widespread commercial success only when electronic communication is secure. Relatively slow devices, such as mobile phones, do not have sufficient computational power for traditional security solutions. Many Ontario technology companies therefore rely heavily on a technology known as elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) to achieve the best possible security on such devices. The exact level of security that ECC can provide, however, is unknown. Dr. Jao’s research will improve our understanding of ECC security and determine which elliptic curves are most secure.

Dispersion-cancelled Biomedical Imaging Using Chirped-pulse Interferometry
Lead researcher: Dr. Kevin Jeffrey Resch
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Biomedical imaging provides researchers with a view of tissues, organs and other anatomical features at the cellular and even molecular level. Using insights gained from quantum information science, Dr. Resch and coworkers recently developed a laser-based interferometer that could be an attractive alternative to the standard techniques for such imaging. This new interferometer produces signals that provide enhanced resolution, and are immune to material dispersion. Dr. Resch proposes to build an advanced imaging prototype based on his laser-based interferometer, and apply it to complex biological systems.

Examination of a Potential Link Between Ca2+ Pump Energetics in Muscle and Metabolic Disorders
Lead researcher: Dr. A. Russell  Tupling
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

According to the World Health Organization, obesity is one of the world's most neglected public health problems, affecting adults and children alike, in developed and developing countries. Dr. Tupling is working on a potential treatment for the world-wide epidemic of obesity and its complications, based on inefficient metabolism in muscle. Muscle contraction and relaxation are processes that depend on energy. The body’s “calcium pumps” regulate these processes. Dr. Tupling and his team are looking into whether altering calcium cycling efficiency in muscle has a significant effect on metabolic rate and susceptibility to obesity. A better understanding could lead to the development of new drugs that reduce susceptibility to obesity and other related metabolic disorders such as diabetes.

Fatty Acid Determinations in Food and Blood with Novel Automated Devices and High Throughput Methodologies
Lead researcher: Dr. Kenneth Douglas Stark
Number of researchers benefiting: 2

Heart disease and stroke costs the Canadian economy more than $18 billion every year in physician services, hospital costs, lost wages and decreased productivity. Dr. Stark and his team are researching whether the fatty acids in blood can help us identify the risks of heart disease, and thereby trim these costs. They are developing patentable automated devices and technologies to help monitor and study fatty acids in the food supply and in human blood. These devices and technologies will reduce the cost of mandatory food labelling, provide Ontario-based analytical companies with a competitive advantage, and stimulate more research into fatty acids in human blood for health and disease risk assessment.