The University of Regina has been granted almost $500,000 by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for four research projects. These projects cover a variety of areas, including the environment, health and education.

Vice-President Research, Dr. David Gauthier, says these funding commitments from the CFI recognize the high quality of research being carried out at the U of R. "We are very pleased with the opportunities this funding creates for the University and our research partners," says Gauthier.

The largest grant - $214,000 - will be used to establish a 3-D Physical and Computational Reservoir Modelling Laboratory, which will provide innovative infrastructure for researchers in petroleum engineering to investigate possible approaches to enhance heavy oil recovery while minimizing environmental impact and to reduce CO2 emissions through geological carbon sequestration. The project is lead by Dr. Fanhua Zeng in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

A grant of $144,269 will be used to establish the Prairie Environmental Processes Laboratory (PEPL), which will integrate studies of the prairie environmental system, including precipitation, stream flow and landscape changes. PEPL will be the only facility of its kind in the prairies. This project will be led by Dr. Kyle Hodder of the Department of Geography.

Dr. Darren Candow, assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies will receive $58,830 to develop simple yet effective exercise and nutrition strategies to increase aging muscle and bone mass. This innovative research will help improve our understanding of how aging muscle and bone respond and adapt to exercise and nutritional intervention strategies which may result in cost savings to the Saskatchewan government by improving functionality and quality of life for older adults.

The final grant for $73,131 will be used to establish a Child Health, Learning and Development (CHLD) Laboratory under the leadership of Dr. Kristi Wright of the Department of Psychology. The new CHLD Laboratory will provide opportunities for research projects designed to understand and improve a child's ability to cope with stressful experiences. The work will focus on several areas, including the nature of how stressful events are experienced by children; how children remember such experiences; how children prepare for and cope during a stressful experience; how experiencing stress impacts learning, academic skills and cognition; and the long-term impact on children's development.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) was created by the Government of Canada to fund world-class research at universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions.