FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 27 2006
CFI Awards $25.8 Million for Major Projects at Canadian Light Source
Today $25.8 million was awarded from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for three projects to be built at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) national synchrotron facility at the University of Saskatchewan.
The projects are led by teams from three universities: the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of British Columbia. Construction and operation will be done in collaboration with CLS scientists.
“These investments represent a tremendous boost to Canada’s research capacity,” said CLS Executive Director Bill Thomlinson. “Today’s support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation is helping us build critical infrastructure which positions the CLS as a global leader in synchrotron science.”
The three projects together comprise five new beamlines. Construction is expected to begin in early 2008, with some of the new facilities operational as early as 2011.
CFI will provide up to 40 per cent of the total $64.5 million in funding for the beamline projects, with the balance to be made up from other partners. Operating costs will be covered by CFI and the CLS operating budget. This funding is part of more than $422 million in investments to support 86 projects at 35 institutions across Canada.
“CFI’s support of cutting-edge research infrastructure has transformed Canada’s research landscape and increased the country’s international competitiveness,” said CFI President and CEO Dr. Eliot Phillipson. “Investments like these have allowed the Canadian Light Source to become a destination of choice for some of the world’s top research talent.”
“Canada’s new government is investing in research and technology development that can build expertise and lay the foundation for economic growth and job creation,” said the Honourable Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification and MP for Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. “Today’s announcement builds on our ongoing support for the Canadian Light Source.”
“Today’s success is due to the extremely hard work of some of Canada’s leading scientists,” said CLS Director of Beamline Development Emil Hallin. “These projects are very powerful additions to the research tool kit available to the Canadian scientific community. We are very excited about the potential for scientific innovation.”
The new beamlines include:
- The Brockhouse X-ray Diffraction and Scattering Sector: Under the leadership of Stefan Kycia from the University of Guelph, this $27.8-million project includes two beamlines which will be devoted to characterizing the structure of a wide variety of materials for applications such as advanced alloys and polymers, novel batteries, food science and petroleum products.
- BioXAS: Life Science Beamline for X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: Led by University of Saskatchewan Canada Research Chair Graham George, this $20.6 million project will develop two beamlines to be used to study biological and health-related metals, in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, as environmental toxins, in metal-containing drugs, and as essential constituents of living systems.
- The Quantum Materials Spectroscopy Centre: Under the leadership of Andrea Damascelli, Canada Research Chair in Electronic Structure of Solids at the University of British Columbia, this $16.1-million project is expected to propel Canada into the forefront of research into the electronic properties of novel materials, with applications from high-performance computing to energy storage technologies.
The projects announced today bring to 19 the number of beamlines in various stages of planning, construction, commissioning and operation at the CLS. There is room for about 30 beamlines at the national synchrotron facility. A backgrounder on these latest projects is available at www.lightsource.ca.
Located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, the CLS is Canada’s national synchrotron research facility. Synchrotron light is used to understand the structure of matter at its fundamental level, leading to improved medical imaging, new drugs, advanced materials, better mineral extraction techniques and enhanced environmental monitoring.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians. More information is available at www.innovation.ca.
For more information Contact:
Sandra Ribeiro
CLS Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator
(306) 657 3558
Sandra.Ribeiro@lightsource.ca
www.lightsource.ca
Angus McKinnon
Coordinator, Media Relations
Canada Foundation for Innovation
(613) 996-3160 Cell: (613) 447-1723
Angus.McKinnon@innovation.ca
www.innovation.ca
Michael Robin
U of S Research Communications
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research
Hilary Thomson
UBC Senior Communications Co-ordinator
(604) 822-2644
Cell: (604) 209-3048
hilary.thomson@ubc.ca
http://www.ubc.ca/
Lori Bona Hunt
University of Guelph
Communications and Public Affairs
(519) 824-4120, Ext. 53338
l.hunt@exec.uoguelph.ca
http://www.uoguelph.ca/
Backgrounder
Canada Foundation for Innovation Grants for Projects at the CLS
November 27, 2006
- The Brockhouse X-ray Diffraction and Scattering Sector, University of Guelph
Named after the Canadian winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics, the Brockhouse X-Ray Diffraction and Scattering Sector at the Canadian Light Source will be a national centre for structural characterization of many forms of materials systems such as crystals, solids, liquids, and nanostructures under ambient conditions and at extreme temperatures, pressures, and magnetic fields.
While X-ray diffraction has been recognized historically as the primary tool for investigating the atomic structure of materials, the technique has recently been revolutionized by the development of intense synchrotron radiation sources, new X-ray optics and novel techniques.
The proposed state of the art infrastructure will support a wide spectrum of Canadian materials research in academic and industrial sectors. Some potential applications include structural studies of polymers, drugs, emulsions, novel batteries, petroleum products and quantum materials.
- BioXAS: Life Science Beamline for X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, University of Saskatchewan
BioXAS will investigate the molecular form and microscopic location of metals in biological systems with unprecedented sensitivity. One hundred researchers, from 19 Canadian universities and other institutions, will use BioXAS in their biomedical, environmental and agricultural research.
Biomedical examples include the role of metals in brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, how to cure the deadly effects of toxic elements such as mercury, and improved drugs to treat cancer. Environmental research focuses on how metal contaminants affect organisms and ultimately humans. BioXAS complements existing CLS life science facilities and strengthens the CLS as a global leader in life science synchrotron research.
- The Quantum Materials Spectroscopy Centre (QMSC), University of British Columbia
Modern science and technology rely on materials whose usefulness depends on their electronic properties – that is, how they conduct or resist electric charges. Semiconductor materials, for example, are the foundation for the world’s computer and telecommunications industries.
The QMSC will be used to design and explore novel complex materials for their potential in next-generation technologies. This national research centre will include advanced beamline tools for probing electronic structure, a dedicated materials preparation facility, and integrated support in materials science theory.
The QMSC will allow Canada to play a leading role in both furthering the quantum theory of solids and developing technological advances in fields as diverse as electronics, telecommunications, computer science, and biomedicine.
Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:42