NSRIT Invests $2.7M In Eight Research Projects
March 26th, 2012
A recent $2.7M provincial investment, through the Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust (NSRIT), towards eight new cutting-edge research projects will involve upwards of 200 highly qualified people over the next five years. This NSRIT support represents a total value to the Province of Nova Scotia of over $9M through significant leveraging opportunities.
As Lois Levine, Executive Director of NSRIT explains, “By leveraging opportunities for innovation, Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust reflects a smart investment by laying the groundwork for Nova Scotia’s competitive research partnerships around the globe. Ms. Levine elaborated that “by providing infrastructure support, NSRIT advances health-based outcomes, clean technology developments and oceans and environment discoveries that bring promise and solutions for long-term sustainability and commercial benefit”.
At Dalhousie University, Dr. Jeff Dahn’s remarkable award through the Automotive Partnership Canada Fund enables the creation of three state-of-the-art labs to build more efficient lithium-ion batteries for cars of the future and better respirators for emergency responders, helping to save lives.
NSRIT’s award of $1,825,526 for Dr. Dahn’s project illustrates collaborative business – academic partnerships with five industrial companies including Magna International, 3M Co. and 3M Canada Co., General Motors and Nova Scotia Power Inc.. Along with CFI and NSERC funding, Dahn’s project leverages $6.36M to Nova Scotia.
“I see it as a Field of Dreams of sorts”, he explains. “I am confident that if we build it, they will come. The project will bring highly qualified people and investors, and has the capacity to produce significant economic spin-offs for Nova Scotia and global markets”.
Other projects include a $142,000 NSRIT award to Dr. Daniel Kane of St. FX University to investigate how cell structures in skeletal muscle contribute to Type 2 Diabetes. The award enables this lab to examine smaller samples of tissues, leading to less waste and less invasive exams.
NSRIT matches funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The beneficiaries of this recent funding include Acadia University, Cape Breton University, Dalhousie University, and StFX University.
In the last 10 years, the trust has supported more than 340 projects with over $66 million in funding to Nova Scotia institutions that received national research funding. For further examples of NSRIT success stories, please visit www.nsrit.ca.