Backgrounder
June 23, 2009
ONTARIO RESEARCH FUND
RESEARCH EXCELLENCE PROGRAM
Through the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence program Round Three the McGuinty government is investing $7,430,858 to support 16 world-class researchers at the University of Guelph.
Sustainable Bedrock Water Supplies for Ontario Communities
Lead Institution: University of Guelph
Lead Researcher: Dr. Beth Parker
Number of Researchers Affected: 12
Provincial Funding: $4,638,316
Funding Program: Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence Program
Over one million people in Ontario depend on bedrock aquifers (underground beds or layers of earth, gravel, or porous stone yielding water) for their water. Under the Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006, communities must develop Source Water Protection Plans to ensure safe water supplies. However, there are gaps in scientific information about bedrock aquifers that limit the scope of the plans.
Dr. Beth Parker is helping to develop better technologies to secure sustainable and safe drinking water and protect Ontario’s groundwater. The funding will support research by Dr. Parker as part of a 13-member multidisciplinary team from three Ontario universities (Guelph, Waterloo and McMaster), in collaboration with Quebec, German and US organizations. The City of Guelph will be a “field laboratory” for this project.
Private Sector Partners: Boeing, Schlumberger Water Services, Syngenta, Guelph Tool, Dow Chemical, Hydrite Chemical, Chevron Energy Technology, BP-ARCO, RJ Burnside and Associates, Aquaresource, GeoSyntec Consultants, Golder Associates, Dillon Consulting, Conestoga Rovers & Associates
Genomics for Agricultural Sustainability
Lead Institution: University of Guelph
Lead Researcher: Dr. Steven J. Rothstein
Number of Researchers Affected: 4
Provincial Funding: $2,792,542
Funding Program: Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence Program
Increasing demand for food in developing nations like China and India, diminishing supplies and rising costs of fossil fuel energy, and global climate change are putting unprecedented stress on agricultural productivity. Corn is a major crop in Ontario, worth over $1.5 billion to the economy annually. The University of Guelph’s research, with its industrial partner Syngenta, will focus on maize plants’ ability to use nitrogen-based fertilizers more effectively and use water under stress conditions. Since nitrogen-based fertilizers are a major pollution source, reducing their use will lessen environmental impacts. The research will identify genes that control plant growth and alter their activity to specifically target traits to improve the plant. Genomic information gained from studying maize can be transferred to other important grain crops, such as barley, rice and wheat.
Private Sector Partners: Syngenta
Investing in research and innovation has been a cornerstone of Ontario’s economic planning since 2003 and is captured in Ontario’s Innovation Agenda. The agenda is a $3.2 billion plan to make Ontario one of the best places in the world to turn world-class research into world-class jobs.
