Seven research collaborations between the University of Waterloo and institutions around the world will receive funding to collaborate on projects ranging from access to energy in underserved communities and exploring cold region ecohydrogeology to testing new bacterial toxins.
Funded by Waterloo (up to $20,000 per project based on equal cash contributions from partners), the projects will involve more than 40 researchers at Waterloo and colleagues in Germany, China, France, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Argentina and the United States.
International Research Partnerships Grants are internal seed grants meant to further Waterloo researchers’ global collaborations with leading research institutions. Since 2011, over 140 projects have been funded totalling $2 million and garnering $3 million in matching cash contributions, and subsequently generating over $20 million in new grants. These projects have also resulted in over 100 new innovations, four patents, and five startups. Aimed at developing new and existing international research collaborations for Waterloo researchers, funding is awarded twice a year. Applications for the next round of International Research Partnership Grants are due May 1, 2019.
Andrew Doxey (Biology) is partnering with Professor Min Dong from Harvard University to test new bacterial toxins predicted by the Doxey Lab and to ultimately build a computational tool and web server for toxin prediction. (IRPG funding: $20,000; Matching funds: $20,000)
Jatin Nathwani (Civil Engineering and Environment, Executive Director WISE) is partnering with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, to host a workshop at the Balsillie School of International Affairs that will bring together over 50 participants from 30 plus institutions to discuss energy access in underserved communities and potential solutions resulting in a draft working paper. (IRPG funding: $20,000; Matching funds: $28,000)
Peter Nelson (Combinatorics and Optimization) is partnering with the Université de Bordeaux, France, to continue investigating sparse structures in graphs and matroids and foster international learning opportunities for six PhD candidates. (IRPG funding: $10,750; Matching funds: $10,850)
Philippe Van Cappellen (Earth and Environmental Sciences) is partnering with the China University of Geosciences, Moscow State University, and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences to form an international research partnership dedicated to explore cold region ecohydrogeology and the impact of climate change on soil and water resources in these regions. (IRPG funding: $18,220; Matching funds: $83,440)
Sushanta Mitra (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering) is partnering with Soochow University to host a workshop in nanotechnology research that will bring together leading academics and entrepreneurs in the Jiangsu region and further the Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology and China partnership. (IRPG funding: $15,375; Matching funds: $15,375)
Susan Horton (School of Public Health and Health Systems), along with Professor Craig Janes (School of Public Health and Health Systems), is partnering with Harvard University, King’s College London, and the National Cancer Institute to bring together key personnel in the field of pathology and laboratory medicine to further develop a Global Alliance for Diagnostics. (IRPG funding: $5,500; Matching funds: $25,440)
Jeremy Pittman (School of Planning) is partnering with the Universidad de la República, the University of Buenos Aires, and the Servicio de Hidrografía Naval of Argentina to study multiple small-scale fisheries across four countries and two ocean warming hotspots, and to develop adaptation pathways designed to improve the adaptive capacity of small-scale fisheries and coastal communities. (IRPG funding: $7,885; Matching funds: $9,210)