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Ten University of Toronto researchers have been awarded Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Strategic Partnership Grants.

The grants were announced March 1 by Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan. Strategic Partnerships connect universities, businesses and government organizations in research collaborations. This round of grants focused on four areas: environmental science and technologies; information and communications technologies; manufacturing; and natural resources and energy, Duncan said.

The grants to the U of T researchers – the largest number awarded to any Canadian university – totalled almost $5 million. Six of the recipients were from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, two from the Faculty of Arts & Science, and one each from the Faculty of Information and from University of Toronto Mississauga.

• Mansoor Barati (Materials Science & Engineering), pyrometallurgical treatment of nickeliferous pyrrhotite tailings for the recovery of nickel, iron and sulphur, $392,187
• Aimy Bazylak (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering), designing new materials for electrolyzing clean fuel, $585,300
• Sean Hum (Electrical & Computer Engineering), advanced electromagnetic surfaces for next-generation communications systems, $538,400
• Ulrich Krull (University of Toronto Mississauga), droplet microfluidic system for production of high value coatings on luminescent nanoparticles, $501,068
• Eugenia Kumacheva (Chemistry), advanced composite materials derived from cellulose nanocrystals, $444,000
• Kelly Lyons (Faculty of Information), data-driven knowledge mobilization, translation and innovation, $747,000
• Elodie Passeport (Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering), beyond the black box: developing a novel bioretention infiltration treatment system for sustainable urban stormwater management, $419,175
• Edward Sargent (Electrical & Computer Engineering), a monolithically integrated infrared quantum dot laser for silicon photonics, $487,433
• Costas Sarris (Electrical & Computer Engineering, integrating physics-based and network protocol design for safety-critical communication systems, $377,716
• Dwight Seferos (Chemistry), tellurium-based reagents and materials, $450,000

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to congratulate all of today's recipients,” said Duncan, a U of T graduate who has taught at the University of Toronto Scarborough and at Royal Roads University. “This support represents a big investment in connecting our country's talented scientists and engineers with industry.”

“We are delighted that U of T researchers have done so well in this round of the SPG program,” said Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice-president (research and innovation). “Thank you to the Government of Canada, NSERC and our partners on these projects for helping our researchers conduct work that will make a tangible impact here in Canada and globally.”

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