Backgrounder

August 4, 2010

Projects Funded In Waterloo

Through the ORF – Research Infrastructure program , the government is investing close to $18 million in research infrastructure projects at universities and research hospitals across the province. This investment will support 104 projects and more than 1,300 researchers at 14 institutions in 11 cities across the province.

University of Waterloo

A parallel multi-processor, multi-core environment for optimization
Optimizing computers’ abilities to solve problems
Lead researcher: Dr. Thomas Coleman
Provincial funding: $91,982
Researchers affected: 3

University of Waterloo researcher Dr. Thomas Coleman is using a powerful computer cluster and his mathematical expertise to develop algorithms (complex instruction sets) for solving problems in fields as diverse as power generation, to health care and finance.

An organism-environment feedback facility
Reducing dependency on pesticides
Lead researcher: Dr. Kim Cuddington
Provincial funding: $125,000
Researchers affected: 10

Ecosystem engineers are organisms that create or modify habitats – for example, beavers or zebra mussels. University of Waterloo biologist Dr. Kim Cuddington is studying the role of ecosystem engineers in determining the spread of invasive species and the impact of agricultural pests.

An EEG and eye movement monitoring laboratory
Understanding how we develop face processing skills
Lead researcher: Dr. Roxane Itier
Provincial funding: $48,197
Researchers affected: 16

At the University of Waterloo, Dr. Roxane Itier is using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques to explore how we develop face processing skills and how they link to social behaviour. The research aims to improve diagnosis and rehabilitation for people with conditions like autism and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Infrastructure for tetherless computing
Developing the computer technology of the future
Lead researcher: Dr. Srinivasan Keshav
Provincial funding: $98,352
Researchers affected: 13

“Tetherless” computing uses smart mobile devices to communicate with Internet servers over wireless networks. At the University of Waterloo, computer scientist Dr. Srinivasan Keshav is using a new test bed to advance tetherless technology, positioning Ontario at the forefront of a significant emerging communications trend that has the potential to put a supercomputer in everyone’s pocket.

Computing cluster for bioinformatics
Advancing drug discovery using high performance computing
Lead researcher: Dr. Ming Li
Provincial funding: $110,646
Researchers affected: 10

Waterloo University’s Dr. Ming Li works in bioinformatics, a field that uses computers to tackle life sciences challenges. He is focused on predicting protein structures, which is fundamental to advancing drug discovery. Currently, that is a slow process, but Dr. Li intends to speed it up by developing new software – giving an edge to Ontario’s biotech industry.

Analysis and modelling of the land-atmosphere system for understanding climate and air quality
Understanding how climate change will affect air quality
Lead researcher: Dr. John Lin
Provincial funding: $93,939
Researchers affected: 6

Dr. John Lin is an earth and environmental sciences researcher at the University of Waterloo who studies the impact of human-induced changes – like greenhouse gases and pollutants – on the air we breathe. He is developing software that will help policy makers integrate the effects of climate change into planning processes.

Fabrication facility for superconducting quantum devices
Developing the computers of the future
Lead researcher: Dr. Adrian Lupascu
Provincial funding: $164,000
Researchers affected: 6

To keep making electronics smaller, transistors will eventually have to shrink to the size of atoms, but atoms are governed by different laws: the laws of quantum mechanics. At the University of Waterloo, physicist Dr. Adrian Lupascu is developing and testing building blocks of quantum information processing, work that will lead to the fast and secure information technology of the future.

Macromolecular crystallography at Waterloo
Altering protein function to achieve specific outcomes
Lead researcher: Dr. David Rose
Provincial funding: $171,008
Researchers affected: 5

Scientists know that proteins carry out important roles in human health and in many natural processes. Dr. David Rose, a University of Waterloo biologist, aims to understand just how proteins work, and how their functions can be altered or regulated for specific outcomes. In particular, his research on human molecules involved in causing diseases or in maintaining health, such as in nutrition, will lead to improvements in treatments for conditions such as cancer, diabetes and obesity.

Computer cluster for quantum molecular dynamics simulations: from quantum nanoclusters to biological systems
Solving the problem of storing hydrogen
Lead researcher: Dr. Pierre-Nicholas Roy
Provincial funding: $150,000
Researchers affected: 12

At the University of Waterloo, chemist Dr. Pierre-Nicholas Roy is studying the computer modeling of molecular systems. His work on how hydrogen interacts with materials could lead to innovative hydrogen storage for Ontario's energy sector, while his work on proteins and carbohydrates could contribute to new treatments to diseases such as tuberculosis and C. difficile.