Three researchers from the University of Victoria will serve as Canada Research Chairs for the next five years.
Roberta Hamme, Ibrahim Numanagić and Farouk Nathoo are among the 346 Chairs announced today by Kirsty Duncan, federal Science and Sport Minister. An investment of over $275 million by the Government of Canada will support Canada Research Chairs at 52 Canadian institutions.
“I am encouraged to see improved equity, diversity and inclusion among our Canada Research Chairs and look forward to seeing how their unique perspectives will help shape a better future for us all,” says Duncan.
READ: UVic consulting on campus-wide gender inclusive washrooms
Hamme, a chemical oceanographer and associate professor in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, has been reappointed as the Canada Research Chair in Ocean Carbon Dynamics. Her research focuses on the natural processes that enable the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide.
“Such information will help Canada to quantify our ocean sector’s role in the global carbon cycle and climate change,” says Hamme.
Nathoo, an associate professor in the department of mathematics and statistics, has also been renewed as Canada Research Chair in Biostatistics for Spatial and High Dimensional Data.
“The Canada Research Chair award enables my research by providing teaching relief, which gives me more time to focus on research and helping attract graduate students,” says Nathoo.
READ: UVic Properties charts ambitious course for off-campus holdings
Numanagić, an assistant professor of computer science, is a new chair. He will serve as the Canada Research Chair in Data Science. Numanagić’s research focuses on analyzing and processing genome sequencing data with the help of computer science.
“The main goal is to provide life and health-science researchers tools and methods for rapid data exploration that can help in their everyday research,” he says. “I hope my Canada Research Chair award will allow me to expand this research to allow better access to genes that harbor important clinical information that will result in easier and cheaper clinical diagnostics.”
UVic has had 41 faculty members be appointed as Canada Research Chairs in the past.
“The government’s investment in this important program helps transform discoveries from our labs and field work into scientific innovation for the benefit of Canadians and people everywhere,” explains David Castle, UVic’s vice-president research.
devon.bidal@saanichnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter