The following is being distributed at the request of the Research & Development Corporation:

Research & Development Corporation Invests $1 Million in
Development of Highly-qualified Researchers in Ocean Industries

More than $1 million in funding is helping Newfoundland and Labrador attract and retain 22 top student researchers, thanks to funding announced today from the Research & Development Corporation (RDC).

The students are the recipients of RDC's Ocean Industries Student Research Awards. In total, eight doctoral, 12 masters, and two undergraduate students at Memorial University of Newfoundland are receiving $1,037,000 in support of their ocean research over a three-year period. The awards range in value from $7,500 per year for undergraduate research to $20,000 to $30,000 per year at the graduate level. The students' research supervisors also receive a research allowance to support their supervisory work.

The investment supports research in areas relevant to Newfoundland and Labrador's ocean industries including offshore petroleum, ocean engineering, marine safety, fisheries and aquaculture, and marine science. The students are enrolled in the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, and School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University.

"It is vital for Newfoundland and Labrador to recruit, foster, and retain top student researchers," said Glenn Janes, Chief Executive Officer of RDC. "These students have a vested interest in research related to Newfoundland and Labrador's growing ocean industries sector and their research will contribute to solving technical challenges and unlocking development opportunities. RDC is proud to support these students and I wish them continued success in their studies."

"World-class research is at the heart of Memorial University and I'm delighted that 22 of our students have received RDC's Ocean Industries Student Research Awards," said Dr. Christopher Loomis, Vice-President (Research), Memorial University. "Graduate students are an essential part of Memorial's research success. The competitive funding provided by this scholarship program will enable them to conduct research that is important to Memorial University and critical to the future prosperity of the province."

"This is great news for Memorial," said the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education. "Our post-secondary institutions are the incubators of change. The creativity, skills and research capacity developed through our province's higher education system are essential for achieving success. A strong and vibrant research environment helps with the recruitment and retention of bright minds, attracts knowledge-based industries, and fosters economic growth."

Brian Claus is one of the recipients of RDC's Ocean Industries Student Research Awards. Mr. Claus is originally from Prince George, British Columbia, but he decided to complete his doctoral studies in Newfoundland and Labrador thanks in part to the funding from RDC.

"This award will allow me to design autonomous underwater vehicles to record oceanographic data year-round off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador," said the doctoral candidate in ocean and naval architecture engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. "Understanding the Labrador Current, which flows down the coast and mingles with the Gulf Stream over the Grand Banks, is important in order to properly manage ocean-based resources."

Selection of award recipients was based on academic achievement, the technical merits of the proposed research plan and the relevance of the research to Newfoundland and Labrador's ocean industries. Final selection of award recipients was made with advice from RDC's research awards committee, comprised of academia, industry and government stakeholders.

The awards target post-secondary students enrolled in science, engineering and technology programs who have an interest in pursuing research in the province's growing ocean industries sector. They are open to post-secondary students in Newfoundland and Labrador, across Canada and internationally, who are interested in pursuing their studies and conducting leading edge research in Newfoundland and Labrador.

About the Research & Development Corporation
The Research & Development Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for improving Newfoundland and Labrador's R&D performance. RDC works with R&D stakeholders including industry, academia and government agencies and departments. For more information about RDC, go to www.researchnl.com. 

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BACKGROUNDER
Recipients of Research Development Corporation's
Ocean Industries Student Research Awards

The following is a list of recipients, their project descriptions, and research area.

Offshore Petroleum:

• Rajib Dey, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  Submarine landslides and the effects on offshore pipelines
• Brendan Harvey, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  Absorbed natural gas containment system for marine transportation using a porous silicon medium
• Peter Ma, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  Riser vortex-induced-vibration time domain simulation tool
• Kenton Pike, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  Development of tools for the assessment of pipeline mechanical integrity during coupled ice keel/seabed/pipeline interaction events
• Jing Ping, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  Innovative UV-enhanced produced water treatment system for offshore Newfoundland and Labrador
• Christopher Rossiter, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
  Advanced numerical modeling of the effects of gouging ice features on buried pipelines
• Justin H. Skinner, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
  Near wellbore modeling for advanced well completion and complex well trajectories

Ocean Engineering and Marine Safety:

• Brian Claus, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
  High-efficiency long-range autonomous underwater vehicle navigation
• Evan Martin, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
  Stationary propeller wake wash: modeling and applications for ice management
• Stephanie Power, Master of Science Candidate, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
  Lifeboat simulation research, training and field trials in ice covered waters

Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science:

• Stefanie Colombo, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Development of camelina as a replacement for fish meal and oil in the diets for cod, salmon and trout aquaculture
• Stefana Egli, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
  Development of real-time marine water monitoring micro-fluidic devices
• Kyle Krumsick, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Cod population growth, feeding patterns, migration and spatial use of habitat
• Khaled Omari, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
  Development of a novel process to convert shellfish biopolymer waste (chitin and its deacetylated form, chitosan) into useful products
• James Pius, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science
  Genetic tools to study cod immunity and improve aquaculture stocks
• Christina Price, Bachelor of Science Student (Honours), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
  Investigation into refining chitin from shellfish offal into biofuels and other useful chemicals
• Olivia Puckrin, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Farmed cod in cages and subsequent quality of embryos released into the environment
• Melanie Rossong, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Impacts of invasive green crab on newly invaded habitats
• Melanie Underwood, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Field research related to trawl design for the yellowtail flounder fishery
• Kathleen Woolridge, Bachelor of Science Student, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
  Marine vessel and infrastructure antifouling polymers derived from the adhesive proteins of mussels
• Jessica Wyatt, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Physiological response of mussels under different holding conditions to improve mussel quality
• Emily Zimmermann, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
  Investigating the behavior of farmed cod in cages and in the wild

2010 11 03                                                   4:10 p.m.