BURNABY– New Democrat MLA Katrina Chen says that research funding for Simon Fraser University in Burnaby will drive innovation through our economy by creating jobs for people, protecting our environment and supporting the advancement of a stronger healthcare system.
“The world-class researchers at SFU are not only advancing scientific knowledge, they are developing new technologies that will change the way we live,” said Chen, MLA for Burnaby-Lougheed. “We’re investing in new research equipment so that SFU can stay on the cutting edge while contributing to a strong economic recovery in Burnaby and across B.C.”
Simon Fraser University is receiving $842,779 as part of the BC Knowledge Development Fund, to support state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and laboratories that are essential for research. The funding will support four projects, which include:
- Artificial Intelligence engineering and visualization – This project is advancing research in precision medicine, medical imaging and multimedia processing. The state-of-the-art infrastructure will enable new algorithms that can process and analyze data for applications such as dementia research, ophthalmology, cancer imaging, and more. The lab will also transfer knowledge and technology to Canadian biomedical and pharmaceutical companies.
- Data visualization – This project is researching new ways to visualize and understand data, and empowering people by developing comprehensible and inclusive technologies. Data-driven technologies affect our everyday lives in our homes, work, classrooms, and healthcare. This funding will support the latest in display and interactive equipment to support the very latest in data visualization research.
- Human-centred autonomous agents through data collection and generation – This project is researching how to improve virtual simulations of everyday scenarios and developing artificial intelligence systems that can more efficiently and safely collect larger volumes of data. Researchers hope to address data bottlenecks and enable higher-quality and higher-quantity data collection. The research has a variety of applications, including autonomous cars, service robots and virtual assistants, that assist people in their daily lives.
- Next-generation smart building – This project is researching smart building technology and ways to include people as an integral part of the building system. This will involve computer vision, motion sensing and wireless networking. Researchers hope to facilitate a new computational platform that can support the fast-growing start-up ecosystem in B.C. and provide business opportunities ranging from smart building operations to autonomous robots.
This is part of a total investment of $25 million to support 34 post-secondary research projects at five universities across the province.
This new research equipment will help universities to attract world-class talent and develop solutions for real-world problems in fields such as health and life sciences, information and communication technologies, social sciences and humanities, clean technology, and natural resources.
Over the last four fiscal years, the BCKDF has awarded more than $154 million to 255 infrastructure research projects.
Chen says supporting this cutting-edge research is part of the BC New Democrat’s plan to rebuild and grow our economy. We’re equipping our universities to enhance productivity and competitiveness, and to generate new businesses and jobs for people through commercialization and partnerships with industry.
John Horgan and the New Democrat government are working hard to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and innovative economy for people and communities throughout B.C.
Learn more: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25139