The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, announced the recipients of the second competition of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) during a ceremony at the University of Waterloo today. Thirteen initiatives across Canada will share $900 million in funding.
Those involving Waterloo researchers are Transformative Quantum Technologies, which will accelerate the development of new quantum technologies, and Global Water Futures, dedicated to finding ways to manage water resources adversely affected by climate change.
“Quantum devices and computing will revolutionize technology as we know it, and the sustainable use and management of fragile water resources is one of the greatest challenges facing people around the world,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “Waterloo is a global leader in both of these critical research areas, and the funding announced today will help ensure Canada’s role at the forefront of world-changing discovery.”
The Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT) program will tackle three grand challenges in quantum research: to develop a universal quantum processor, quantum sensors and long-distance quantum communications. Under the direction of Professor David Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing at Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing, TQT will aim to connect academic research with industry applications in a variety of fields. CFREF will contribute $76.3 million to this initiative of more than $140 million.
“Quantum mechanics enable devices that are otherwise impossible in the classical world, and these revolutionary devices will transform the way we interact with and learn about the world,” said Cory, also a professor of chemistry in the Faculty of Science at Waterloo. “Transformative Quantum Technologies aims to develop new quantum technologies and to connect quantum devices to applications spanning the fields of medicine, health, navigation, environment, materials and others.”
Global Water Futures, the largest university-led water research program ever funded worldwide, is a Canada-wide effort led by the University of Saskatchewan (U of S). It brings together research on water resources, aquatic ecosystems, climate and land use change with advanced instrumentation, hydrological forecasting and risk management in order to address the threats and opportunities associated with ongoing and future changes in the availability and quality of water in Canada and in cold regions around the world. As the lead institution, U of S is partnering with the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo. Professor Philippe Van Cappellen, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ecohydrology, and his colleagues of the Water Institute will receive $15 million of the CFREF funding to U of S, with the amount from all sources totalling $30 million. CFREF will contribute more than $77 million to the overall initiative of more than $143 million.
“Most of the climate change impacts we are experiencing are through changes in the water cycle,” said Van Cappellen, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and a member of the Water Institute at Waterloo. “Canada urgently needs a co-ordinated, research-driven approach to manage and sustain our vast freshwater resources, and with this support, we’re going to be better able to adapt to the new climate normal.”
CFREF invests in areas where Canadian post-secondary institutions can become global leaders in their fields of key research strength. Selection for funding followed an open competition among Canada’s post-secondary institutions that was judged by a panel of Canadian and international scientific experts. The inaugural CFREF competition was divided into two parts, with the first one announcing more than $350 million in funding in 2015.
Information about each of the 13 funded initiatives from today’s announcement is available at www.cfref-apogee.gc.ca.
