Faculty and students at the University of Manitoba will receive a total of $9,593,545 in new scholarships and grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The new funding is the result of NSERC’s grants and scholarships competition. It includes NSERC Discovery Grants totaling $8,940,745 for University of Manitoba researchers, and 48 awards totaling $1,652,800 for young researchers at the graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels.

The University of Manitoba awards were part of a national announcement made in Montreal, Quebec, today by Minister of Industry Tony Clement.

“Our government’s investments in science and technology are designed to create jobs, stimulate the economy and improve Canadians’ quality of life,” said Minister Clement. “We are proud to support a broad range of research activities that serves both the short-term need for innovation and the long-term need to build and maintain a pool of knowledge.”

In total, $472 million will be provided through grants and scholarships to nearly 5,000 professors and students at higher education institutions across Canada. At the U of M, the money will help support research projects that explore a variety of areas - from phosphorus transport to early grammatical knowledge in infants.

“This new funding will make possible a wide range of research in the natural sciences and engineering and support our established researchers and those just starting out,” said Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research) and distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba. “I congratulate all of our recipients.”

“NSERC recognizes the excellence in scholarship we have here at the university. These awards encourage the best and brightest to pursue graduate studies that are for the betterment of not only Canada but the world,” said John (Jay) Doering, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba. “We are very proud of our recipients.”

NSERC is a federal agency whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators to the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 28,000 students and post-doctoral fellows in their advanced studies. The Council promotes discovery by funding more than 11,800 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.

For more information, please contact: Katie Chalmers-Brooks, research communications officer, University of Manitoba, at: 204-474-7184