As part of Research Week 2022, the Provincial Government is highlighting more than $850,000 in funding contributions to research projects happening in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Researchers throughout the province work across multiple disciplines to help us better understand the world and connect with industry and innovation opportunities. In addition to the provincial investment, these four projects are leveraging nearly $5.2 million from national and other sources.

Research and knowledge development across all sectors is critical for diversifying and growing the province’s economy, including the following investments:

• $179,795 for the Esseltine Lab to support Dr. Jessica Esseltine, Dr. Graham Fraser and Dr. Curtis French in their research project: Advancing Imaging Facility for the Visualization of Live and Complex Biological Specimens. This research aims to understand how cells, tissues, and organs function and addres knowledge gaps in several diseases that are common in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• $590,000 for Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructure – a Memorial University led partnership research project. Co-led by Dr. Paul Foley and Dr. Lorenzo Moro, the project is working to identify and address infrastructure needs and problems related to safety in marine work, the sustainability of blue economies and inclusion, equity and diversity in coastal communities and marine sectors in the context of climate, ocean and economic change. This research is important for building a stronger economic foundation for coastal communities and ocean industries in Atlantic Canada, including Newfoundland and Labrador.
• $75,424 for Dr. Talia Jane Stockmann and Dr. Francesca Kerton to assist with the development of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Spectro-electrochemical Analysis Lab. Dr. Stockmann and Dr. Kerton are working to take atmospheric carbon dioxide and change it into products like fuel or graphite. They are also researching new molecular catalysts to convert carbon dioxide into reusable plastic. This research has potential to have far-reaching societal, industrial, and scientific impacts.
• $17,800 to Dr. Syed Imtiaz for research into a Training Self-Learning Artificial Neural Network Model from Unlabeled Data. Manufacturing high quality products at low cost has made process industries very complex over the years. This research aims to develop an automated monitoring tool for process systems that is able to tackle noisy, mislabeled data and data scarcity problems. The project will directly benefit the process industries in the province, including refinery, offshore oil and gas processing facilities and mineral processing industries.

The Provincial Government continues to celebrate and raise awareness of the great research and development being done in Newfoundland and Labrador, and encourages continued collaboration among the research community.

The goal of Research Week is to celebrate and raise awareness of the renowned research expertise of those in the province, and to encourage more multidisciplinary collaboration among the research community.

Quotes
“Newfoundland and Labrador researchers are globally recognized and our government is proud to support them. In addition to expansion of knowledge, each of these projects is advancing our understanding in key areas that will have both societal and economic impacts. The projects also assist industry with identification of new opportunities and solutions to ongoing challenges.”
Honourable Andrew Parsons
Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology

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