TRU is getting $540,000 in research grants to fund student and faculty programs over the next five years.
TRU professors Richard Brewster, Louis Gosselin, David Hill, Johnathan Van Hamme and Roger Yu, were awarded Discovery Grants this year, the most TRU has ever received. Their research includes topics in mathematics and statistics, geography and biological science.
Will Garrett-Petts, associate VP of research and graduate studies, said the news is the most recent example of high quality research at TRU.
“The success of the most recent NSERC Discovery Grant competition speaks to our growing research culture at TRU and the investments that have been made to support the culture,” he said.
Each Discovery Grant is on a five-year term and will be used to fund specific projects proposed by the researchers during the competition. According to grant guidelines, proposals are judged on both creativity and practical use.
TRU students will also see some of that money. On average, 30 per cent of external grants received by the university goes to support student research training and research assistants. TRU students can expect to see about $160,000 of this year’s Discovery Grant windfall over the next five years.
“The external grants also provide wonderful opportunities for our students to become engaged in the research process,” Garrett-Petts said.
The importance of research and improvement has been a growing ambition for TRU since the university received its official research mandate in 2005. In 2011, TRU joined the Research University Council of British Columbia with the goal to “make the world a better place by generating a new knowledge and understanding in our students,” according to Garrett-Petts.
