Innovation, Business and Rural Development
November 22, 2011
The following is being distributed at the request of the Research & Development Corporation:
Memorial University Student Researchers Net $835,000 in Funding
Twenty post-secondary students are receiving a total of $835,000 for research related to this province’s growing ocean industries sector, as announced by the Research & Development Corporation (RDC).
These students are the recipients of RDC’s second Ocean Industries Student Research Awards competition. In total, nine doctoral, nine masters and two undergraduate students at Memorial University of Newfoundland are receiving $835,000 in support of their ocean-related 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 are also receiving a research allowance to support their students’ research activities.
“In order to build on Newfoundland and Labrador’s world-class capacity and performance in ocean-related research, it is paramount that we recruit, foster and retain research talent,” said the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister Responsible for the Research & Development Corporation. “Capitalizing on research opportunities in ocean science and technology to further support industry advancement and commercialization is a key element of the province’s economy and its continued prosperity.”
The investment supports research and development in areas relevant to Newfoundland and Labrador’s ocean industries including offshore petroleum engineering, ocean engineering, fisheries, aquaculture and marine science. The students are enrolled in Memorial’s Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
“The Research & Development Corporation’s investment supports the culture of innovation at Memorial University, enabling these students to conduct research that is critical to the future prosperity of this province,” said Glenn Janes, Chief Executive Officer of RDC. “These 20 students have a personal stake in ocean-related research. They are tackling technical research challenges that will contribute to innovative solutions relevant to industry and future economic growth.”
Dr. Christopher Loomis, Vice President (Research) of Memorial University, said these awards will enrich Memorial’s research programs.
“Students are essential to research success. Their fresh ideas, tenacity and hard work will advance knowledge in their respective fields and will build our capacity for research in the ocean industries that are so important to our university and province,” said Dr. Loomis.
The successful students are selected through a competitive process, based on their strong academic achievement, the technical merits of their 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 in Newfoundland and Labrador, across Canada and internationally, enrolled in science, engineering and technology programs that have an interest in pursuing research in the province’s growing ocean industries sector. They are open to post-secondary students who are interested in pursuing their studies and conducting leading-edge research at Memorial University of Newfoundland or College of North Atlantic.
Descriptions of the projects receiving funding from RDC are contained in
the backgrounder of this release, while further details of the Ocean
Industries Student Research Awards are available online at
www.researchnl.com 
.
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 business, academia and government agencies and departments. In Budget 2011 Standing Strong: For Prosperity. For Our Future. For Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Government allocated more than $19 million to make strategic research and development related investments in people, strategic opportunities and infrastructure.
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Media contacts:
| Scott Barfoot Director of Communications Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development 709-729-4570, 690-6290 scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca |
Jeff Green Manager, Marketing & Communications Research & Development Corporation 709-758-0973, 691-8892 jeffsgreen@researchnl.com |
| Meaghan Whelan Communications Co-ordinator Office of the Vice-President (Research) Memorial University of Newfoundland 709-864-4073, 687-9243 mcwhelan@mun.ca |
BACKGROUNDER
Recipients of RDC’s Ocean Industries Student Research Awards
Offshore Petroleum Engineering
- Thomas Browne, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of
Engineering and Applied Science
Analysis of compressive ice failure during ice-structure interaction - Jing Jing Cai, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science
Offshore gas processing and waste gas recovery using novel membrane technology - Waqas Hanif, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of
Engineering and Applied Science
Tensile strain capacity of pipelines - Kyle Howlett, Bachelor of Engineering Student, Faculty of
Engineering and Applied Science
Offshore subsurface seismic surveying using autonomous underwater vehicles - Pu Li, PhD - NSERC Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science
Development of an integrated diagnosis, alert and emergency response system for supporting prevention and clean-up of offshore oil spills in Newfoundland and Labrador - Kshama Sundar Roy, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of
Engineering and Applied Science
Finite element modeling of offshore pipelines using advanced soil constitutive model - Omid Zadakbar, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science
Risk based fault detection and diagnosis in offshore process plants
Ocean Engineering
- Khalid Eldarymli, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and
Applied Science
Synthetic Aperture Radar detection in cluttered environments - Peter Cumming Gifford, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty
of Engineering and Applied Science
Evaluation of the stability, motions and resistance characteristics of the propelled spar concept - Liang Jing, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science
An integrated ballast water management system for vessels operating in harsh environments - Nahidul Islam Khan, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and
Applied Science
Water current turbine for marine instrumentation system (development of an autonomous low-cost energy generation system that can optimize power ‘harvesting’ from marine current) - Nikoo Naeemi Sanatdoost, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty
of Engineering and Applied Science
Design and optimization of inertial Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System-based accelerometer sensors for under-ice/water navigation systems
Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science
- Rebecca Doyle-Batstone, Master of Science Candidate, Department
of Biology, Faculty of Science
The ventilation and burrowing behavior of thyasirid clams (Bivalvia: Thyasiridae) - Yuri Gidge, Master of Science Candidate, Environmental Science,
Faculty of Science
Variation in opportunistic polychaete complexes in relation to habitat type and environmental conditions (Investigation of the role of opportunistic polychaete worm complexes (OPC) in the remediation of finfish aquaculture sites in Newfoundland) - Victoria Neville, Master of Science Candidate, Department of
Biology, Faculty of Science
Otolith morphology and elemental fingerprinting for analysis of mixed cod stocks in NAFO sub-division 3Ps - Emma Posluns, Master of Environmental Science Candidate,
Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science
Integrating scientific and fisher’s ecological knowledge into a Geographic Information System for the Yellowtail Flounder fishery - Ryan Stanley, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of
Science
Biophysical interactions regulating connectivity during the early life history of American lobster (Homarus americanus) - Sarah Tuziak, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of
Science
The roles of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in teleost fish appetite regulation and reproduction (the molecular regulation of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) transcript families in marine fish) - Kerry-Lynn Williams, Bachelor of Science Student (Honours),
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Oligo-1,8-pyrenes as potential fluorescent sensors for wastewater and other contaminants (this project aims to develop fluorescent molecules that respond selectively to various wastewater components, such that detection of contamination is possible) - Brendan Wringe, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of
Science
Evolutionary and ecological implications of interaction between wild and farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
2011 11 22 4:05 p.m.