August 13, 2007

EARLY RESEARCHER AWARD PROGRAM

Through the Early Researcher Award program, the McGuinty government is helping promising, recently appointed Ontario researchers undertake cutting-edge research and build their research teams of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates. This round of awards will provide $200,000 to support two projects at Laurentian University. Researchers each receive a $100,000 award through the program.

Laurentian University

Dr. Mark Eys Research suggests that physical inactivity increases costs to our health care system, as well as employee absences. Physical activity often declines during adolescence. Why that happens and what can be done about it is the focus of research being conducted by Dr. Mark Eys, an assistant professor in the School of Human Kinetics at Laurentian University. Dr. Eys is examining how being part of a group impacts on physical activity among adolescents 13-17 and what sorts of interventions are most successful in keeping them active into adulthood.

Dr. Zhibin Ye Polyolefins are the most widely used polymer materials worldwide. In fact, they are used in every aspect of our daily life and in every industry. Developing value-added polyolefins with superior properties would give Ontario’s plastics industry a definite competitive advantage - and that is the focus of research being conducted by Dr. Zhibin Ye, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering at Laurentian University. He is developing a novel series of star-shaped polyolefin materials, which would have tailored structure and superior material properties.

Early Researcher Award

The Early Researcher Award program is a $51-million, five-year initiative. This program is a key component of the province's research and innovation strategy, which aims to strengthen Ontario's economic advantage by helping to attract, retain and develop the best and brightest researchers.

Each award to a leading researcher is a maximum of $100,000 and must be matched by an additional $50,000 from the researcher’s institution and/or a private sector partner. In addition, up to $40,000 in indirect costs is provided to the institution. The award must be used to cover the eligible expenses of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates, including:

• Salaries and benefits
• Travel and expenses related to conferences, workshops or seminars
• Travel and expenses related directly to offsite research activities.

For more information about the Early Researcher Award, please visit www.ontario.ca/innovation.