Student researchers receive wave of ocean industries funding

Research and Development Corporation gives $835,000 to MUN students

By Paul Hussey and Tim O’Brien

The Research and Development Corporation (RDC) of Newfoundland and Labrador made a significant contribution to this province’s growing ocean industries sector, handing out 20 research awards to post-secondary students at Memorial University on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

On hand for the event at Memorial University’s Bruneau Centre were Keith Hutchings (Minister Responsible for the Research and Development Corporation), Glenn Janes (Chief Executive Officer of RDC), and Chris Loomis (vice-president of research).

“The RDC’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,” Janes said in a press release.

“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.”

The awards are aimed at students studying offshore petroleum engineering and geoscience, ocean engineering, fisheries, aquaculture, marine science, and other fields which help foster the development and commercialization of ocean innovation and technologies.

While both undergraduate and graduate students, Canadian or international, at either at Memorial University or the College of the North Atlantic were eligible to apply for the awards, all awards were handed out to MUN students studying at the undergraduate, masters, or doctoral level.

Money made available for the RDC Ocean Industries Student Research Awards was made possible through the provincial government’s $19-million investment in RDC this year. This is part of an overall contribution to the ocean industries and fisheries, which is also seeing the government invest $6.6-million in the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Sector over the next three years.

Applications for next year’s awards can already be found online at researchnl.com, with a fixed deadline of Jan. 27, 2012 for submissions. The value of the awards are the same as this year’s awards, ranging from up to $7,500 per year for undergraduate students, and $20,000 to $30,000 per year for graduate students.

There will be an estimated 20 awards available, with funding to be received by students’ research supervisors for their work as well.

Candidates will be selected based on academic record, relevance of the research to Newfoundland and Labrador’s ocean industries, and the technical benefit of the proposed research plans. The selection of the award recipients will be chosen with advice from RDC’s research awards committee—comprised of academia, industry, and government stakeholders.

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