Backgrounder

October 28, 2009

Projects Funded In Thunder Bay

Today, through the Ontario Research Fund–Research Infrastructure program, Ontario is investing $314,830 at Lakehead University to support two research projects and nine researchers. This investment is part of a broader $268-million province-wide investment to support 214 projects and more than 3,300 researchers in 14 cities under this round of funding.

Understanding the Impact of Contaminants from Human Activities on Aquatic Life
Keeping Ontario’s ecosystems intact
Lead Researcher: Pyle, Greg
Provincial Funding: $125,000
Researchers Affected: 6

Ontario’s large primary resource sector contributes significantly to metals entering the province’s water system. Dr. Greg Pyle will study the impact that metals have on aquatic animals’ ability to get the information they need from their environment for their vital life processes, like finding food, avoiding predators and reproducing. The research findings can be used to focus on the factors that will best keep Ontario’s ecosystems intact and to provide the scientific framework for environmental laws that balance the competing needs of economy and ecology.

Fire Resistance Testing Laboratory
Learning more about the fire resistance of structures
Lead Researcher: Tikka, Timo
Provincial Funding: $189,830
Researchers Affected: 3

The collapse of the World Trade Centre towers on September 11, 2001 focused attention on the fire resistance of structures. Structural engineers asked: what are the effects of extreme temperature on structural concrete columns? On steel columns embedded in concrete? On other structural components? Those are questions Dr. Timo Tikka hopes to answer at a new Fire Resistance Testing Laboratory at Lakehead University. What he discovers will help fill in critical gaps in our knowledge of fire resistance – and lead to better building materials and codes.

The Ontario Innovation Agenda

Research at Lakehead University is one example of Ontario leading the world in the quest for knowledge and discovery. Support for this kind of work is part of Ontario’s Innovation Agenda, the province’s $3.2-billion strategy to make innovation a driving force of Ontario’s economy.  By targeting investments toward areas where Ontario already is, or is poised to become a global leader, and by building on our greatest strength – the talent and ingenuity of our people – Ontario is harnessing innovation to ensure ours is one of the winning economies of the 21st century. 

Support from the Ontario Research Fund–Research Infrastructure program

Part of Ontario’s Innovation Agenda, the Ontario Research Fund (ORF) is key to the province’s plan to move world-class research from the lab to the global marketplace. The role of the ORF is to help ensure that Ontario researchers have the tools they need to lead the world, or lead international collaborations, in their respective fields.