NSERC Praises Canada’s Young Entrepreneurial Researchers

Some of Canada’s leading young researchers were honoured today for applying their leading-edge research to real-world situations.

Their work includes the development of a new self-propelled sea vessel to serve offshore wind turbines, creating a new platform technology to produce bacterial vaccinations, and enhancing the capabilities of Atomic Force Microscopes. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), noted these achievements today, in announcing the recipients of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2012 Innovation Challenge Awards.

 “Our government is pleased to celebrate the achievements of Canada’s young entrepreneurial researchers during Small Business Week and National Science and Technology Week,” said Minister of State Goodyear. “I would like to congratulate these exceptional students for having the creativity and courage to pursue their ideas. Their work is an example of innovation at its best.”

“These awards encourage graduate students to explore the real-world implications of their research. I am very impressed with the high calibre of the nominations we received from universities across Canada,” said Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC. “These young researchers understand that the ability to translate new knowledge into innovative products and services is a crucial factor in pushing Canada to new levels of innovation.”

Offshore wind turbines present one of the greatest opportunities to achieve a clean energy future, but the ocean’s rough waters and the logistical hurdles of transporting crews and equipment to offshore turbines present significant challenges. Peter Gifford and his colleagues have developed the solution. The TranSPAR Craft is a self-propelled marine vessel created to serve offshore wind turbines. For this work, Dr. Gifford, who completed a graduate degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland, received the first prize, worth $10,000.

Canadians will soon be protected against common bacteria like Salmonella enterica—one of the most common food-borne illnesses in the world, thanks to a breakthrough led by Barry Neil Duplantis. While working on his PhD at the University of Victoria, Dr. Duplantis developed a new platform technology that allows researchers to create weakened strains of bacteria to be injected into animals carrying the disease, protecting humans from this, and potentially other, common bacterial infections. This research, expected to help alleviate the health care system of millions of infections each year, has earned Dr. Duplantis, the first runner-up prize, worth $5,000.

Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM) enable researchers around the world to see the smallest phenomena imaginable as they unfold at the nanoscale, but they have difficulty measuring forces that are parallel to the microscope’s slide. Aleksander Labuda devised a solution to this technical issue while completing his graduate degree at McGill University, by redesigning an AFM so that it operates perpendicular to the microscope’s slide. For giving researchers the tools they need to see nanoscale landscapes with unprecedented clarity and precision, Dr. Labuda received $5,000 as second runner-up.

Six other researchers each received an honourable mention prize of $1,500.

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Press release, October 16, 2012; Image: ic