NSERC boosts funding for Waterloo researchers on the verge of a breakthrough

Friday, June 27, 2014

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) selected nine researchers from the University of Waterloo for increased funds to support their research deemed to be novel or potentially transformative, and likely to contribute to groundbreaking advances.

The recipients of the Discovery Accelerator Supplements announced today are among more than 100 researchers at Waterloo who have received more than $20 million to further their research through programs such as Discovery grants and grants for equipment.
This funding provides a valuable boost to researchers entering a critical phase of their work and supports it at the next level. The results will, in turn, advance technology around the world and the Canadian economy.
Professor D. George Dixon — vice-president, university research at Waterloo
Professor Hany Aziz in the lab

Professor Hany Aziz. (Credit: University of Waterloo) 

One of the nine to receive a supplement, Professor Hany Aziz from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering hopes his research will change the future of electronic devices and solar panels. He and his research team are studying organic semiconductors – the next generation of materials that will convert electrical power into light in devices such as laptops and cell phones, and harvest light from the sun and convert it into energy in solar cells.