MONTREAL/April 5, 2004—
10 Canada Research Chairs now at Concordia
In its most successful bid to date, Concordia University was today awarded 7 new Canada Research Chairs (CRC) - two Tier-1 level chairs and five Tier-2 level chairs. Tier-1 chairs are awarded to well-established researchers and provide them with $1.4 million in funding over a 7-year period. Tier-2 Chairs are awarded to emerging researchers, and provide $500,000 over 5-year period.
Concordia's Rector and Vice-Chancellor Frederick Lowy welcomed the announcement saying, ìThe number and scope of the chairs is truly impressive. All are on the cutting edge of their fields of study, and will greatly enhance the university's research profile.î
Donal Hickey, CRC in Genome Evolution (Tier 1), has been at the University of Ottawa. He studies the patterns of genome evolution, using bioinformatics tools. The results of his research are relevant to molecular medicine and environmental protection.
Nigel Rapport, CRC in Globalization, Citizenship and Social Justice (Tier 1), tackles the big questions facing society, including, in his words, "the cosmopolitan experience of the citizen and the openness of a just society." He is coming to Concordia from Scotland to become director of a new Centre for Cosmopolitan Studies.
Mark A. Ellenbogen, CRC in Psychopathology (Tier 2), looks at what makes children vulnerable to social, academic and mental health problems. He looks at the developmental antecedents of behavioural and emotional problems in high-risk adolescents and young adults. He comes to Concordia from the UniversitÈ de Montrèal.
Sivakumar Narayanswamy, CRC in Laser Metrology and Laser Micromachining (Tier 2), came to Canada from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Laser metrology is the science of measurement. Laser micromachining involves investigating problems at the subatomic level that relate to sub-surface defects, surface finish and deformations, features that are very important for the high performance of advanced materials.
Uri Shalev, CRC in Neurobiology of Drug Abuse (Tier 2), uses animal models of drug-taking and mental illness to study the interactions between underlying neural mechanisms and energy balance systems. This could obviously benefit the treatment of drug addicts. He is coming to Concordia's Centre for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology from D-Pharm Ltd., in Rehovot, Israel.
Christopher Wilds, CRC in Biological Chemistry (Tier 2), came to Concordia from Johns Hopkins University. His research aims to make the use of modified DNA-based therapies more commonplace and to lead to broader application in the drug design of DNA-based therapeutics.
Yong Zeng, CRC in Design Science (Tier 2), is with the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE). His research aims to develop computer-aided conceptual tools for the design and manufacturing industry to enhance its competitiveness in the global market.
"The work our Chairholders are doing in universities throughout the country plays a key role in making Canada a better place to live," said Lucienne Robillard, Minister of Industry. "Congratulations to all the new Canada Research Chairs."
Canada Research Chairs Program stands at the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world's top five countries for research and development. In 2000, the Government of Canada allocated $900 million to establish 2,000 research professorshipsóCanada Research Chairsóin universities across the country. Chairholders advance the frontiers of knowledge in their fields, not only through their own work, but also by teaching and supervising students and coordinating the work of other researchers.
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