Over $100 million to U of T research from CFI/ORF successes
“Forward-thinking investment,” says President
Paul Fraumeni
Recent successes in awards from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), combined with a recently announced match from the provincial Ontario Research Fund (ORF), have resulted in more than $100 million in research funding for U of T.
The funding comes from these sources:
- CFI (announced Jan. 15, 2013 http://news.utoronto.ca/microbes-nanomaterials-and-gas-turbines)
- $35 million (for purchase of infrastructure)
- $10.5 million through the Infrastructure Operating Fund for operating and maintenance of infrastructure
- ORF
- $35 million (for purchase of infrastructure)
- Other sources such as partnerships with the private sector and institutional investments
- $22 million
“As researchers across Ontario continue to excel, their work depends increasingly on access to state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure,” said U of T President, Professor David Naylor. “We are therefore very grateful to the Province of Ontario for this forward-thinking investment. It will support world-leading innovation ranging from fundamental science in diverse disciplines to projects involving technologies that have rapid industrial applications.”
The U of T faculty members receiving this funding from CFI and ORF include:
- U of T Host Microbiome Research Network, Dana Philpott, Immunology
- Centre for Biofouling Control, Gilbert Walker, Chemistry
- Centre for Chemical Analysis, Andrei Yudin, Chemistry
- Development of Open-Access Research Tools for Epigenetics, Cheryl Arrowsmith, Medical Biophysics
- Nanomaterials for Energy, Ted Sargent, Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Ontario Centre for Characterization of Advanced Materials, Charles Mims, Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
- Technology and Instrument Developments for Space and Ground-based Astronomy, Dae-Sik Moon, Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Centre for the Evaluation of Technological Innovation (CETI), Murray Krahn, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
- High-Pressure Blow-Down Facility for Gas Turbine Combustion Research, Omer Gulder, University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
- A Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, Ue-Li Pen, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
Professor Paul Young, U of T’s vice president (research and innovation) noted that these successes are also notable in terms of the national and provincial share of the awards:
- 46 per cent ($76.4 million) of the total CFI funds awarded ($166 million) in the January 15 announcement were awarded to Ontario
- U of T and its partner hospitals received $35 million (20 per cent) of the $166 million
- U of T and its partner hospitals received $35 million (46 per cent) of the $76.4 million of the Ontario awards.
“This is a fantastic success rate and is due to the innovation and relevancy of the research and to the talented U of T faculty and staff who developed the proposals.”
Student Brandon Sutherland, left, pictured in the labortory of Professor Ted Sargent, with Reza Moridi, Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation. Photo: Jon Horvatin.
