A total of $14,3 million invested in cutting-edge infrastructure and research at INRS

The Government of Canada has provided funding to more than twenty
professors in key fields of science, engineering, and humanities

QUEBEC CITY, March 13, 2024 /CNW/ - The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) is pleased to announce that several faculty members and students have achieved excellent results in the recent public announcement of funding competitions held by the Canadian funding agencies.

The Government of Canada has announced a series of investments of more than $1.7 billion in cutting-edge research in health, environment, economic development, and many other fields. These results were unveiled today by Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Québec Lieutenant, at the Université de Montréal. He was speaking on behalf of Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Mark Holland, Minister of Health.

A total of $14,3 million was received by the INRS as part of this announcement from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Research (CIHR), and the Canada Research Chairs.

"Investing in research excellence means providing solutions to major societal challenges in Québec and elsewhere. The success of our researchers, confirmed by the new investments announced today by the Government of Canada, reinforces the relevance of the INRS's unique model. These funds will enable us to pursue our research and training activities in strategic areas for the advancement of society."

  — Luc-Alain Giraldeau, Chief Executive Officer, INRS

"On behalf of the INRS community, I would like to extend my congratulations to all our recipients. It is a great source of pride to see such investment in our talents, in the next generation of researchers, and in the infrastructure of our institution. This will undoubtedly advance discoveries and innovations for a sustainable future, across Canada."

  — Isabelle Delisle, Interim Scientific Director, INRS

Professor Valérie Langlois, along with professors Roberto Morandotti and Tiago Falk, are the co-recipients of the CFI's Innovation Fund 2023. Thanks to this funding, two new research infrastructures will be created at INRS, enabling the research community to tackle the crucial issues affecting our planet and to pursue ambitious ideas that drive innovation.

Valérie Langlois, a researcher at INRS Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre, will be leading the MIXTUROMICS Centre of Excellence. This will be the first centre in Québec and the only one in the world to integrate leading-edge infrastructure and expertise to target the detection, becoming, effects on environmental health, and modelling of the contamination of urban, agricultural, and northern environmental blends in a single program. This centre, comprising four platforms, will aim to study chemical contaminants in water, soil, air, and food in greater depth, both in the field and in the laboratory.  

MIXTUROMICS is receiving $3.9 million in funding (including $1,960,000 allocated to INRS) and will be led jointly by INRS, McGill University, and the Université de Montréal.

The QUALITY (Quantum and Artificial Intelligence Light Infrastructure for Tomorrow sustainable sYstems) research program, led by Professors Roberto Morandotti and Tiago Falk from the INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre, will contribute to the next generation of the Internet. It will focus on the development of technologies linked to telecommunications networks, particularly involving the transmission of multisensory data, such as vibrations, smells, and touch – commonly known as the Internet of the Senses (IoS) and the Tactile Internet (TI).

This $5.1 million project (including $2,740,319 allocated to INRS) will be conducted in collaboration with teams from McGill University, the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), and the University of Toronto.

Click here to read more about it.

INRS is an academic institution dedicated exclusively to graduate research and training in strategic sectors in Quebec. Since its creation in 1969, it has actively contributed to Quebec's economic, social, and cultural development. INRS ranks first in Quebec and Canada in research intensity. It is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres located in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, which focus their efforts on strategic sectors: water, earth, and environment (Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre); energy, materials, and telecommunications (Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre); urbanization, culture, and society (Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre); and health and biotechnology (Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre). The INRS community includes over 1,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty and staff members.  

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