[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/03-minister-ted.jpg” caption=”Researchers from across five of McMaster’s six Faculties had reason to celebrate today when John Milloy, Minister of Research and Innovation, announced more than $33M in research infrastructure funding for eighteen research projects. Photo by Mike Lalich. “]Researchers from across five of McMaster's six Faculties had reason to celebrate today when John Milloy, Minister of Research and Innovation, announced more than $33M in research infrastructure funding for eighteen research projects.

Almost two dozen research laboratories and facilities, employing more than 300 researchers, will be impacted by the province's research investment. The infrastructure monies will provide funding to start new labs, expand existing research facilities and purchase the latest equipment to enable our researchers, their research teams and students to stay at the forefront of discoveries that will improve our environment, our health and our economy.

The $33M will fund a variety of multi-and-cross-disciplinary projects that range from producing the next generation of solar cells to developing safer, more dependable clean energy applications from nuclear power; from creating new biomaterials and devices to understanding how bacteria infects domestic animals and humans; and from developing new materials for the manufacturing industry to identifying solutions for problems in a variety of fields in the burgeoning digital media and gaming industry.

Mo Elbestawi, vice-president, research & international affairs, commended the provincial government for its continued and unparalleled support of McMaster's research enterprise, noting that “the creation of the Ontario Research Fund (ORF) has had a profound effect on our province's ability to compete on the international research stage. This new funding will build on our economy through knowledge and innovation, create jobs, build research capacity in a number of sectors and bring university researchers together with industry partners, ultimately creating a climate of innovation and prosperity for Ontario.”

Rafael Kleiman, Canada Research Chair in MicroElectroMechanical Systems and director of the Centre for Emerging Device Technologies, was awarded more than $5M from the ORF Large Infrastructure Funds to establish the Laboratory for Advanced Photovoltaic Research, which will be one of the world's foremost facilities for the design, fabrication and testing of advanced solar cells.

“The global photovoltaic market – technologies used to convert sunlight into electricity – is estimated to reach $32 billion by 2012. I'm convinced that we can capture much more of the sun's power to provide affordable electricity for all the world's needs, and the province is helping us realize that bold vision,” said Kleiman.

Today's announcement is part of a broader $268M province-wide investment that will support 214 projects and more than 3300 researchers in 14 cities.