Slide 1 - UNENE

							Nuclear Energy R&D Funding Initiatives @ NSERC
André Isabelle Research Partnerships andre.isabelle@nserc.ca

Vision and Mission
We invest in:

Prosperity and high quality of life for Canadians

Science and Engineering Research Canada innovation discovery
Competitive research in science and engineering, providing access to new knowledge from around the world

EXCELLENCE

people
Highly skilled, well educated and capable of lifelong learning WORKING IN ALL AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate and postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows and some university faculty

Productive use of new knowledge in all sectors of the economy and society

Our goal is Canadian excellence in:
We do this through peer-reviewed competitions in three programs

CREATING KNOWLEDGE

USING NEW KNOWLEDGE Partnerships of universities with industry and other sectors for project research

Research Grants for basic research in the universities

University R&D Funding in the Natural Sciences and Engineering, 2004

Provincial Govt's 13% Other 6% Industry 12%

NSERC 16% CFI/Other Federal Organizations 11% Universities 42%

Total: $4.1 Billion
Source: Statistics Canada

Three Key Elements of NSERC
• Discovery Grants (Discovery):
– NSERC supports the research of more than 10,000 university professors

• Research Partnerships (Innovation):
– 1,300+ partner firms since 1983 – 73 of Canada’s Top 100 R&D firms – Average of 100 new firms every year

• Training (People):
– NSERC supports about 17,000 science and engineering students earning Master’s and Ph.D. degrees

NSERC Budget 2005-06 NSERC Budget2005-06 (millions of dollars) (millions of dollars)
Discovery $388 - 45.0% Innovation $165 - 19.2% People $272 - 31.5% Administration $38 - 4.4%

Discovery $388 - 45.0%

Innovation $165 - 19.2%

People $272 - 31.5%

Administration $38 - 4.4%

Total: $865

Research Partnerships Programs
GOAL: To maximize the benefits of university research to Canada

• Link universities with the public and private sectors through collaborative research projects • Expose students to challenges and opportunities in both industry & government • Stimulate investment in research

Strategic Project Grants (SPG)
• Early stage research with potential for breakthrough discoveries • Active involvement of non-academic participants essential but no cash required • Target areas of national importance and emerging areas of potential significance • Annual competition (April 18 deadline) / success rate circa 25% • Average award $400K over 3 years, average team of 3 to 4 faculty plus collaborators

Seven New Target Areas
• Advanced Communications and Management of Information • Biomedical Technologies • Competitive Manufacturing and Value-Added Products and Processes • Healthy Environment and Ecosystems • Quality Foods and Novel Bioproducts • Safety and Security • Sustainable Energy Systems

Collaborative R&D Grants (CRD)
• Main vehicle for Canadian based firms to work with university researchers • At any point in the R&D spectrum • Support well-defined, focused projects with specific short- to medium-term objectives, or • Discrete phases in longer-range research programs • Require signed research agreement between university and industrial partner

Collaborative R&D Grants (CRD)
• 1 to 5 years duration, usually 3 years • Average NSERC grant $55,000 per year • Industry responsible for at least 1/2 costs & must be able to exploit results • Flexible leverage: cash and in-kind • 80-85% success rate • No fixed deadlines

Industrial Partners Use Results from an NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant
Access to new ideas Updating knowledge Training of HQP Improvement of products or processes New products or processes Prototypes or pilot processes Improvement in productivity Improvement in product quality

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percentage of Industrial Respondents Citing Impact

Nuclear Research Project Grants
• Collaborative Research and Development Grants
– 11 active grants over periods of 2-4 years in length – $1.7M NSERC funds – $1.3M industry funds

• Strategic Project Grants
– 4 active 3-year grants – $1.4M NSERC funds

• Universities (n=11)
– Alberta, École Polytechnique, Guelph, Lakehead, Manitoba, McGill, McMaster, New Brunswick, Ottawa, Royal Military College, Saskatchewan

• Industrial Partners
– AECL, Cameco, CANDU Owners Group, Cogema, Ontario Power Generation, UNENE

Industrial Research Chairs
 Prestigious appointment of a distinguished

researcher
 Industry provides 50% of cost in cash  Initial appointment is for 5 years (renewable)

 Currently over 120 active faculty positions
 A significant university research program is established or enhanced in area of interest to

industry / must be incremental

Industrial Research Chairs
NSERC offers three types of IRCs:

• Senior Industrial Research Chairs for distinguished senior researchers (five-year appointment, renewable); • Associate Industrial Research Chairs for early stage researchers demonstrating exceptional promise (fiveyear appointment, renewable once); and • Executive Industrial Research Chairs for senior outstanding R&D professionals from Industry (fiveyear appointment, non-renewable).

Nuclear Industrial Research Chairs
• Nuclear Materials and Chemistry
– – – – – – R. Holt, Queen’s University D. Lister, University of New Brunswick R. Newman, University of Toronto M. Pettigrew, École Polytechnique D. Shoesmith, University of Western Ontario C. Wren, University of Western Ontario

• Reactor Operations
– J. Jiang, University of Western Ontario – J. Luxat, McMaster University – M. Pandey, University of Waterloo

• Radiation Effects
– D. Boreham, McMaster University – C. Seymour, McMaster University (with UNENE)

Nuclear Industrial Research Chairs
projected graduate students trained projected PDFs trained total NSERC funding total industry funding 82 17 $9.6M $9.3M
(industry also providing significant in-kind contributions)

active industrial partners

AECL, Babcock and Wilcox, Bruce Power, CANDU Owners Group, Ontario Power Generation, UNENE

Scholarships and Fellowships Programs with Industry
• Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) in Industry • Industrial Post-Graduate Scholarships (IPS) • Industrial Research Fellowships (IRF)

Direct Student Funding in Nuclear Sector
• Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships
– 6 current students with 2-year scholarships – $15k NSERC funds per student per annum – $6k minimum industry funds per student per annum

• Undergraduate Student Research Awards in Industry
– 10 current students with 4-month awards – $4,500 NSERC funds per student – $1,125 minimum industry funds per student

Special Initiatives
• • • • Science and math education K to 12 PromoScience Design Engineering Chairs and Network Women in Science and Engineering Chairs • College Community Innovation Program

Support for International Collaboration
• Freedom for PI’s to travel to visit colleagues abroad and bring visitors to Canada • Support for workshops to explore international collaboration • NSERC Council examining International Science Policy - may yield new mechanisms and support