On June 17, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced more than $492 million in funding by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), through its Discovery research program. In the 2020 Discovery Grants competition, 137 McGill researchers received funding totalling more than $33 million.
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I’d like to thank the country’s researchers for the hard work they continue to do at such a challenging time,” said Minister Bains. “With this support, we are investing in, and celebrating, the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research.”
The NSERC Discovery Grants Program supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals. The grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances. It also includes support for early-career researchers who will bring new perspectives and insights to their fields, enabling them to become the research leaders of tomorrow.
McGill’s funded projects span disciplines ranging from Professor Marie-Josée Dumont’s innovative research on bio-renewable chemicals and smart materials derived from non-edible biomass, to Professor Yazhou Xie’s critical research on seismic fragility, loss, and resilience of Canada’s bridge infrastructure; from Professor Denise Klein’s studies on brain plasticity and language learning, to Professor Gary Scavone’s model-based analysis and design optimization of music instruments.
“I would like to thank the Government of Canada and NSERC for their significant support and commitment to fundamental research,” said Martha Crago, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation. “This investment into McGill’s natural sciences and engineering research will bolster our innovative discoveries that address some of the world’s biggest challenges.”