Establishing
and
supporting
innovative
research
projects
is
an
important
priority
for
the
University
of
Waterloo.
The
Canadian
Foundation
for
Innovation’s
John
R.
Evans
Leaders
Fund
has
recognized
four
Faculty
of
Science
researchers
to
embarking
upon
research
or
technology
development
that
is
innovative,
high
quality
and
meets
international
standards.
Vivek
Maheshwari,
Professor
in
the
Department
of
Chemistry, alongside Professor Kevin
Musselman from
the
Faculty
of
Engineering was
awarded
$125,619
for
the
project Advanced
Characterization
Facility
for
Stable
Metal
Halide
Perovskite
Materials
and
Devices.
This
funding
will
be
used
to
build
infrastructure
to
enable
the
research
and
development
of
highly
efficient
and
stable
perovskite
solar
cells, as
per solar
power
industry
standards.
The
infrastructure
is
critical
for
the
progression
of
this
technology,
as
a
low-cost
photovoltaics
are
in
line
with
the
University
of
Waterloo’s
declaration
of
the
climate
emergency.
Dale
Martin,
Professor
in
the
Department
of
Biology,
was
awarded $160,000 for
the
project Microscopy
System
for
Targeting
S-Palmitoylation
in
Neurodegeneration. This funding
will
go
towards
purchasing
a
confocal
microscope
to
track
protein
movements
in
live
cells,
including
cultured
neurons,
that
are
dependent
on
the
lipid
modification
of
proteins
known
as
S-palmitoylation.
S-palmitoylation
works
like
a
postal
code –
it tells
proteins
where
to
go
in
a
cell
and
has
emerged
as
an
important
modification
that
directs
proteins
in
neurons.
The
scope
will
be
used
to
track
dysregulated
palmitoylation
in
neurodegeneration
and
develop
drug
screens
to
target
palmitoylation
in
neurodegenerative
diseases.
Jenine
McCutcheon,
Professor
in
the
Department
of
Earth
and
Environmental
Sciences,
was
awarded
$100,000
for
the
project Biofilms
as
Bioreactors:
Using
Microbial
Processes
to
Sequester
Carbon
and
Remediate
Metals
in
Mine
Waste
Materials.
This
project
will
study
the
structure
and
chemistry
of
microbial
mats
and
biofilms.
The
results
will
have
applications
to
carbon
sequestration
and
metal
recovery
in
mine
waste
materials,
thereby
contributing
to
more
sustainable
mining
practices.
Crystal
Senko,
Professor
in
the
Department
of
Physics
and
Astronomy, was
awarded
$202,421 for
the
project Laboratory
for
Trapped
Ion
Quantum
Computing
with
Nonidentical
Qubits. Senko’s
research
focuses
on
using
trapped
ions
for
quantum
simulations
and
quantum
computing
applications.
Her
work
also
explores using
electrons
to
represent
multiple
levels
of
encryption,
known
as qudits and
how
to
improve
the
efficiency
of
encoding
a
logical
unit
of
information
using
the
multiple
levels
of
a qudit.
These
projects
are
four
of
the 21 projects selected
for
funding at
Waterloo.
A
total
of
332
projects were funded
province
wide
though
this
initiative. This
funding helps
institutions
recruit
and
retain
outstanding
researchers,
acquire
the
tools
that
enable
the
innovative
work
of
leading
researchers
and
offer
research
support.
