Two
researchers
in
the
Faculty
of
Science
have
received
funding
from
the
Government
of
Canada’s
New
Frontiers
in
Research
Fund
(NFRF): Holger
Kleinke
from
the
Department
of
Chemistry
and Will
Percival
from
the Department
of
Physics
and
Astronomy.
The
projects
were
part
of
two
competitions:
the
2021
Exploration
competition
and
the
NFRF
special
call
on
Innovative
Approaches
to
Research
in
the
Pandemic
Context.
Kleinke,
who's
research
focuses
on
finding
and
optimizing
new
materials capable
of
converting
heat
into
electrical
energy
and
vice
versa,
received
$250,000
from
the
Exploration
competition
for
his
proposal
"Hybrid-powered
Portable
Solid-State
Lighting". The
goal
is
to
use
small
thermoelectric
generators
(TEGs)
to
convert
the
waste
heat
generated
by
the
LEDs
into
electricity,
which
will
be
fed
back
into
the
LEDs
by
recharging
the
portable
battery,
thereby
extending
their
running
times
and
enhancing
their
brightness.
"We
intend
to
employ
these
TEG-driven
LEDs
to
generate
UV
light
for
water
purification
systems,
of
special
interest
for
Canada's
remote,
less
developed
regions."
Percival is
the
Director
of
the
Waterloo
Centre
of
Astrophysics
and
focuses
his
research
on
the
properties
of
the
Universe
on
the
largest
scales. He
was
recognized
in
the
special
call
for
innovative
approaches
to
research
in
the
pandemic
context
and
received
$250,000
for
the
proposal
"Being
confident
in
the
discovery
of
new
physics
from
cosmological
observations"
in
collaboration
with
Professor
Glen
McGee
from
the
Faculty
of
Math. The
project
goals
are
to
apply
techniques
developed
for
biostatistics
to
the
problem
of
understanding
the
Universe
as
a
whole.
"Some
recent
astrophysical
observations
are
in
tension
with
the
standard
cosmological
model,
possibly
pointing
to
unknown
physical
processes
at
work
in
the
Universe.
A
small
interdisciplinary
team
at
Waterloo will
look
at
the
statistical
strength
of
these
claims."
The
NFRF
awarded
more
than
$45
million
in
support
for
research
projects
for
751
researchers,
including
245
early
career
researchers.
Research
teams
of
two
or
more
are
receiving
grants
of
up
to
$250,000
each
over
two
years.
There
were six
recipients
in
total
from
the
University
of
Waterloo.