Canada's Minister of Science and Sport has announced more than $558 million in funding for science projects at universities across the country, including at the University of Windsor.
Kirsty Duncan, in Windsor on Tuesday, said it was the most significant investment the federal government has ever made in research and includes $70 million in new funding earmarked in the 2018 federal budget.
Some 30 researchers at the local university will share $6 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The student projects run the gamut from bonding particles at the molecular level to one day improve memory in computers, to new technology to almost double the efficiency of combustion engines. The research could one day benefit the environment, medical science, manufacturing, even the health of Lake Erie which was recently identified as a critical concern of Windsor-Essex residents.
Across Canada, 4,300 researchers and students will have the money they need to pursue world-leading discovery. Of them, more than 400 students will get Discovery Grants to kick-start their careers.
One of this year's recipients is even a Nobel Prize winner -- Dr. Donna Strickland at the University of Waterloo. She will receive funding to better understand matter at the molecular level with the use of lasers.
Duncan said for every dollar spent to support public research, the federal government can expect a 20 per cent return on the investment.
"The money comes back to Canadians in the form of higher wages, new jobs and sales," stated a media release from the announcement.
For Duncan, the announcement at the University of Windsor serves as a homecoming. She was an associate professor of Earth and Natural Sciences from 1993 to almost 2000.
