Two University of Regina Engineering professors have been awarded a total of $166,327 in federal funding to work on separate research projects related to energy and sustainability. The funding was announced recently as part of the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Leaders Opportunity Fund, an ongoing program designed to help Canadian universities attract and retain outstanding faculty members and researchers.

Shahid Azam, an assistant professor of Environmental Systems Engineering at the U of R, has received $114,000 for developing a testing system to study earthen materials affecting in-ground storage, transportation infrastructure and pipelines. The U of R’s other CFI grant – worth $52,327 – was awarded to Andy Aroonwilas, an associate professor of Industrial Systems Engineering. He is developing an energy monitoring system to be used for greenhouse gas reduction research. [Note: Further information about Azam and Aroonwilas’ projects can be found in the backgrounder.]

“The U of R is very proud of Dr. Azam and Dr. Aroonwilas for the work they are doing,” said Rod Kelln, Acting Vice-President Research at the University of Regina. “Sustainable use of energy and resources is an increasingly important issue for the public, and the CFI funding recognizes the fact that U of R researchers will play a leading role in helping Canada and the world to face this challenge.”

“The CFI funding is an important component of the federal government’s commitment to university research,” said the Honourable Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue and Regional Minister for Saskatchewan. “This funding allows cutting edge research, aimed at having a positive global effect, to take place right here in Saskatchewan.”

Azam and Aroonwilas’ funding is part of the approximately $22 million the CFI provided to Canadian universities this week through the Leaders Opportunity Fund. The CFI also awarded an additional $4.3 million to universities this week as part of the Infrastructure Operating Fund, an accompanying program that contributes to the incremental operating and maintenance costs of CFI-funded university infrastructure projects.