Western Selected for $4.8 Million From CFI

"This is great news for Western," says Bill Bridger, Vice-President (Research). "The CFI decision is a major investment that recognizes the academic excellence of Western and our world leading researchers. These grants represent a significant investment in our ability to do top-flight research on this campus in the future."

The CFI announced yesterday it would invest $4.8 million for four of Western's seven proposals. This represents 40 per cent of the total project costs, with the remainder expected to come from the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund and partnership funding from industry. The total funding of the projects will be $12.1 million.

"This announcement confirms that Western is one of Canada's top research universities," says Western's President Paul Davenport. "The diversity of areas funded shows the depth of Western research and teaching strengths and is a great move in making London one of the biotechnology centres of Canada."

The four research infrastructure projects that were approved are:

$1.6 million for Biomedical Engineering;
$1.4 million for the Advance Biotechnology Research Centre
$1.2 million for the National Centre for Audiology
$535,000 for Molecular Structure and Dynamics by High Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
Two other projects, which Western had submitted and went to the second phase of approval, were not approved for final funding. There is still one major project to be reviewed for funding by CFI.

Bridger said the decision by CFI to fund these projects would enhance Western's ability to attract world-class faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students to London in the future.

The CFI was established by the federal government to boost research infrastructure at Canadian universities as part of the 1997 federal budget.

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For more information, please contact Bill Bridger, Vice-President (Research) at (519) 661-3812 or Marcia Daniel, Communications and Public Affairs, at (519) 679-2111 ext. 5165.