From physics to fine arts and chemistry to cognition, four new Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) enhance research and creative work at the University of Victoria (UVic). Mélanie Joly, federal minister of industry, announced the recipients as part of the Canada Research Chairs program, which is administered by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
UVic's latest Canada Research Chairs, leaders in health, physics, chemistry and digital art. Left to right: Marie-Ève Tremblay (Medical Sciences), Saurabh Chitnis (Chemistry), Joel Ong (Visual Arts) and Dominique Trischuk (Physics).
The UVic faculty leaders in health, physics, chemistry and digital art were named on Wednesday as part of a federal government announcement in research excellence.
The Canada Research Chair program helps the University of Victoria attract and retain the best scholars from around the world. Through their research, these chairholders are pushing the boundaries of what is possible and in doing so they are helping advance solutions to some of our greatest challenges."
Lisa Kalynchuk, UVic vice-president research and innovation
New Canada Research Chairs
Marie-Ève Tremblay (Medical Sciences) is named a Tier I CRC in Neurobiology of Healthy Cognitive Aging. For the past 10 years, she has been a Tier II CRC at UVic. She first found that microglia, brain immune cells, are constantly active and essential for healthy brains. Then she discovered dark microglia, which can cause disease. Now she is advancing into therapeutic applications for microglia.
Tremblay is also receiving $350,000 for complementary equipment from the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI-JELF).
Saurabh Chitnis (Chemistry) joins UVic as a Tier II CRC in Inorganic Materials and Polymers. A synthetic chemist, his research explores new types of inorganic polymers and materials for applications in green technologies. He also investigates new concepts in metal coordination chemistry for making chemical synthesis more efficient. His lab is providing fundamental insights and practical solutions to accelerate our transition to a net-zero emissions future.
Chitnis has also been awarded $250,000 from CFI-JELF for a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer for low-carbon materials research.
Joel Ong (Visual Arts) now holds a Tier II CRC in Emergent Digital Art Practices. Ong is an artist-researcher whose works connect scientific and artistic approaches to the environment. Developed from more than a decade of explorations in contemporary ecological thought, his digital art, installation and socially conscious community-engaged practices create new methods for imagining alternative ecological futures.
Dominique Trischuk (Physics) has been awarded a Tier II CRC in Dark Matter and Physics at the Subatomic Frontier. She studies what happens when protons collide at high speeds in the Large Hadron Collider at the international research centre CERN. She's searching for rare and mysterious "long-lived particles" which, if they exist, last for a billionth of a second but provide clues about dark matter and the forces that shape the universe and everything around us.
Trischuk has also received from CFI-JELF $150,000 toward detector readout infrastructure for the Inner Tracker upgrade of the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.
Renewals build momentum
As well, four other UVic Canada Research Chairs were renewed for a further five years:
Kristian Dubrawski (Civil Engineering/Geography) Water Sustainability for Indigenous and Rural Communities
Sarah Hunt (Environmental Studies) Indigenous Political Ecology
Makhsud Saidaminov (Chemistry) Advanced Functional Materials. He has also been awarded $120,000 from CFI-JELF toward a laser scriber for perovskite solar modules
Nicole Templeman (Biology) Metabolic Determinants of Reproduction and Aging
UVic is home to more than three dozen CRCs, working in fields that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and well-being); Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation); Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy); Goal 13 (climate action).
Read more about the Canada Research Chair program and the Government of Canada news release.
