Government of Canada Supports Our Most Promising Researchers: Announcing the Results of NSERC's 2011 Grants and Scholarships Competition

At the beginning of the summer, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced the results of the 2011 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grants and scholarships competitions. This investment in the country's most promising researchers helps ensure that Canada continues to create jobs and prosperity through new ideas and innovative thinking.

Speaking at Brock University, Minister Goodyear said: "It is important that we reward the ambitions of these promising researchers and encourage them in their projects. Jobs and prosperity will flourish in the countries that can generate new ideas and innovative thinking, and supporting our most promising researchers will help ensure that Canada remains one of those countries."

Programs like the Discovery Grants Program give researchers the freedom and flexibility to pursue the most promising research directions as they arise and encourage creative and cutting-edge approaches, as well as international collaboration.

Research by University of Brock Professor Helps Investigations into Autism

During the announcement, Brock University psychology professor Catherine Mondloch, whose work on face perception helps us understand how we recognize one another, received a Discovery Grant and was acknowledged for receiving one of only a handful of Discovery Accelerator Supplements (DAS). Of the over 2,000 Discovery Grant recipients, only 123 will receive these supplements in addition to their grant. Valued at $120,000 over three years, DAS awards are given to top-ranked researchers who possess strong potential for becoming international leaders. The list of Discovery Accelerator Supplements recipients is available on the NSERC website.

Mondloch's award will enable her to hire a post-doctoral student with the expertise to run the complex 3D and 4D cameras and related computer software used in her work. Her research group is interested in how children develop the ability to recognize faces and how that ability is influenced by experience with different face categories.

Minister of State Goodyear noted, "The results of her work are being used by researchers around the world to investigate cases of children with autism or with infantile brain lesions."

For more information, view this interview with Catherine Mondloch on BrockTV — Brock University's Student Television Network.

Government's Commitment to World-Class Research

The 2011 budget detailed the Canadian government's commitment to providing resources that support cutting-edge research, create world-class research centres and promote research in new technologies—an approach that will, in turn, generate jobs and prosperity for Canadians.

NSERC-funded researchers drive tomorrow's innovations. NSERC-funded professors train students and post-doctoral fellows who often go on to become leaders in government, academia and industry. These highly trained individuals will enjoy above-average employability and income, and will contribute to the local, provincial/territorial and national economies for years to come. Through the 2011 NSERC grants and scholarships announced this summer, the government will invest $411 million over the course of five years in research that will drive innovation.