On March 18, on the Campus Montréal site, the federal government announced the results of several grant competitions through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Polytechnique Montréal achieved the best research funding results in its history, with combined commitments totalling nearly $47 million.
“Congratulations to top-tier researchers who will get a boost through this vital funding to take their projects to the next level,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Our government is proud to support future generations by enabling students and postdoctoral researchers to acquire and hone the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their challenging fields. Their pioneering research will further establish Canada’s position as a global leader in innovation while helping to drive our economy and achieve our shared vision of a brighter, healthier future for all Canadians.”
François Bertrand, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Polytechnique Montréal, was delighted with the results of the funding competitions, not least because they illustrate our scientists’ commitment to collaborating on projects with outside partners. “Our faculty members are engaged in research fields that are among the most valuable to society,” he said. “Supporting our Crown corporations and businesses in tackling the challenges they face is part of our mission. Investments in research are investments in social progress. This funding announcement is proof that the government understands the crucial importance of university research in meeting the challenges of today’s world.”
Alliance grants: a record total
The support pledged for Polytechnique Montréal researchers includes more than $15 million as part of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) 2022 Alliance competition, a record amount for Polytechnique. In all, 32 projects led by Polytechnique professors received amounts ranging from $25,000 to $2,592,000.
They include a cybersecurity research project that will focus on insider threats, to be led by Frédéric Cuppens, full professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering. For his part, Professor Ludvik Martinu of the Department of Engineering Physics has received support for research to perfect multifunctional coatings with applications in optics, energy and aerospace.
Researchers specializing in microelectronics will also be able to implement their projects, including Oussama Moutanabbir and Yves-Alain Peter, both full professors of engineering physics, whose teams are developing a new range of semiconductors and a tool for detecting methane emissions from dairy farms, respectively.
More than $28.6 million from the CFI
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Québec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy and their other partners, meanwhile, have committed to investing some $28.6 million to fund research infrastructure and researchers’ activities as part of the 2023 competition.
Among the projects receiving support is that led by Gregory De Crescenzo, full professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, who has assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists to develop next-generation biomaterials for tendon and cartilage regeneration. The group will receive $6.8 million for its project.
The Polytechnique Montréal Structures Lab, which already boasts equipment making it the largest and best-appointed facility of its kind in the country, will benefit from $5.2 million in support to upgrade some of its equipment as well as to install climate chambers that will simulate the meteorological conditions to which our infrastructures are exposed. The team at the plastics recycling and upcycling platform led by Abdellah Ajji, full professor in and Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering, will also add new equipment thanks to a grant of over $4 million.
Lastly, a $5-million grant will enable the Polytechnique Microfabrication Laboratory and its clean room to add equipment to support development of quantum photonics technology. Denis Seletskiy, associate professor in the Department of Engineering Physics, will benefit from these new facilities in developing mid-infrared frequency detection technologies.
“Our clean room is a vital component of semiconductor research in Montréal, making Polytechnique a leader in the field in Canada,” Mr. Bertrand noted.
A new research chair
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is also creating and/or renewing several Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs via NSERC. Three of them are held by Polytechnique Montréal professors, and will be receiving a total of $1.6 million.
Sampada Bodkhe, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the holder of the new Canada Research Chair in Advanced Manufacturing of Multifunctional Adaptive Structures. Her research group will work to develop multifunctional composites using additive manufacturing that will be adaptable to their environment. NSERC has also renewed the Canada Research Chair in Design and Optimization of Non-Regular Mechanical Systems, held by Alain Batailly, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Canada Research Chair in Computational Hydrosystems, held by Ahmad Shakibaeinia, full professor in the Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering.
Support for emerging academics
The federal department also reiterated its support for up-and-coming researchers at Polytechnique, with 33 students receiving a total of $1.5 million in scholarships from the three federal granting agencies, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), NSERC, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). These include the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships awarded to two Polytechnique students last August.
These scholarships will provide master’s and doctoral students with the support they need to further their work in the fields of engineering, health sciences, natural sciences as well as the social sciences and humanities.
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