CFI funding awarded to Waterloo researchers

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Twenty-three University of Waterloo based infrastructure projects have been awarded more than $3.8-million to tackle national and global challenges, according to an announcement this morning from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). CFI has committed $64 million in research infrastructure funding through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) program, across 40 Canadian universities. With JELF funding,"universities across the country will be able to attract and support promising, world-class researchers who will use their expertise and creativity to bring novel ideas to solve concrete problems that impact society," said Roseann O'Reilly Runte, President and CEO of CFI.

This year's funding will support projects in areas ranging from wastewater treatment to DNA approaches for cancer therapy, permitting brilliant minds to kick start or move their careers forward.

Waterloo Projects to receive infrastructure funding are:

Timely and Privacy-preserving Threat Intelligence using Machine Learning

$85,000

Raouf Boutaba - Cheriton School of Computer Science

Infrastructure to Identify and Mitigate Threats to Drinking Water Source Quality and Treatability in a Changing Climate

$250,000

Monica Emelko - Civil and Environmental Engineering

(co-applicants: Kirsten Muller - Biology, Anh Pham - Civil and Environmental Engineering)

Developing Photoacoustic Remote Sensing (PARS) for Next Generation Real-time Medical Imaging in-Situ

$209,440

Parsin Haji Reza - Systems Design Engineering

(co-applicant: Anita Layton - Applied Mathematics)

Multi-user High-resolution X-ray Powder Diffractometer with Heating Stage

$103,668

Holger Kleinke - Chemistry

(co-applicants: Anna Klinkova - Chemistry, Carol Ptacek - Earth and Environmental Sciences)

Infrastructure for the Experimental Evaluation of Innovative Mass Timber and FRP-hybrid Systems

$104,000

Daniel Lacroix - Civil and Environmental Engineering

A Data-informed Model for Predicting Kidney Outcomes

$118,221

Anita Layton - Applied Mathematics

(co-applicant: Raouf Boutaba - Cheriton School of Computer Science)

Longhouse Labs

$577,855

Logan MacDonald - Fine Arts

Human Motion Analyses to Predict and Treat Osteoarthritis

$79,776

Monica Maly - Kinesiology and Health Sciences

Advancing Safety of Autonomous Systems for Real-world Applications

$80,000

Yash Vardhan Pant - Electrical and Computer Engineering

Infrastructure for the Characterization and Manipulation of Soft Robotic Materials

$90,000

Hamed Shahsavan - Chemical Engineering

Laboratory X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy to Accelerate Sustainable Technology Development

$560,000

Rodney Smith - Chemistry

(co-applicants: David Blowes - Earth and Environmental Sciences, David Hawthorn - Physics and Astronomy)

CPU-GPU Enabled Computational Modelling of the Coastal Ocean

$83,425

Marek Stastna - Applied Mathematics

(co-applicants: Kevin Lamb - Applied Mathematics, Francis Poulin - Applied Mathematics)

Real-world Assessment of Assistive Robotics for Mobility Impairments and Injury Prevention

$227,500

James Tung - Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering (co-applicant: Katja Mombaur - Systems Design Engineering)

Infrared Imaging and Drop Shape Analyzer Systems for Surface Science and Bionanomaterials Development

$80,000

Boxin Zhao - Chemical Engineering

(co-applicants: William Anderson, Tizazu Mekonnen - Chemical Engineering)

Human-machine Collaborative Visual Data Exploration and Analytics

$80,000

Jian Zhao - Cheriton School of Computer Science

Developing a Unique Canadian Critical Zone Observatory at the Lake-landscape Interface

$150,000

Andrea Brookfield - Earth and Environmental Sciences

Mitigation of Collapse Risks of Civil Infrastructure by Developing Novel and Reliable Non-destructive Testing Techniques

$109,095

Giovanni Cascante - Civil and Environmental Engineering

(co-applicants: Hassan Baaj - Civil and Environmental Engineering, Maria Anna Polak- Civil and Environmental Engineering)

Next Generation Fire Safety: Grounded in science, embracing population diversity

$125,564

Paolo Dominelli - Kinesiology and Health Sciences

(co-applicant: Elizabeth Weckman - Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering)

Atomic Force Microscopy Combined with Electrophysiology for Molecular Neuroscience Research

$173,575

Zoya Leonenko - Physics and Astronomy

Development of Sustainable Technology Platform for Paper-based Monitoring Devices

$125,200

Sushanta Mitra - Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

Electric Aviation: Operational testing of low carbon aviation technology

$131,124

Paul Parker - Geography and Environmental Management

(co-applicants: Suzanne Kearns - Geography and Environmental Management, Mehrdad Pirnia - Management Sciences)

Infrastructure to Launch a Novel Skin Biomechanics Research Program in Canada

$90,000

Taisiya Sigaeva - Systems Design Engineering

Tracking the Coevolution of Earth’s Biosphere, Hydrosphere and Geosphere using Novel Isotope Systems

$198,412

Chris Yakymchuk - Earth and Environmental Sciences

(co-applicants: Brian Kendall - Earth and Environmental Sciences, Heidi Swanson - Biology)

Read more from our faculties

Research projects win $1.6 million in federal support