Research News 
Research promotion released their annual Year in Research.
Highlights include:
- Cathleen Crudden (Chemistry) kicked-off 2022 with $24 million in support from Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund to advance research on molecular coatings designed to significantly extend the lifespan of vital metals.
- Vice-Principal Research, Nancy Ross, travelled 2 km underground at SNOLAB to host the announcement for the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Science Initiatives Fund, contributing $122 million in funding to support two research platforms affiliated with Queen’s.
- John McGarry (Political Studies) was named the 2022 laureate for the Pearson Peace Medal, an award designated by the United Nations Association of Canada to recognize a Canadian who has made outstanding contributions to peace and prosperity around the world.
SSHRC Institutional Grants
The Vice-Principal Research Portfolio (VPR) has launched the 2023 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Institutional Grants (SIG) program, which provides Queen’s faculty with funds for small-scale research and research-related activities. Applications for creative research that result in artistic work(s) are welcome.
The VPR will facilitate a merit review process to award SIG funds up to $7,000 per year/per project. Funds are awarded to Queen’s University based on researcher success in earlier funding competitions, and support faculty career advancement and student participation in projects.
The 2023 application deadlines are February 15 and June 15.
Canada First Research Excellence Fund
Queen’s University was invited to present their proposal to the selection board as part of the final round of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) — a program designed to help Canadian postsecondary institutions turn their key strengths into world-leading capabilities through a competition budget of $1.4B over 7 years.
The Queen's panel was led by Tony Noble (Queen's Professor and Canada Research Chair in Particle Astrophysics), and included Patrick Deane (Principal and Vice-Chancellor), Stephanie Simpson (AVP Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion), Jodi Cooley (Executive Director of SNOLAB), and Fabrice Retière (Senior Research Scientist at TRIUMF). The Queen’s proposal is linked to our Nobel-winning excellence in astroparticle physics and, if successful, will engage the next generation of global physics researchers.
Results of the competition are expected later this Spring.
New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF)
The 2023 NFRF International funding call invites researchers to tackle global challenges caused by climate change. Research teams must be interdisciplinary and include collaborators eligible for funding from one of the identified international partner countries (note: more countries may be added before the official launch in January), and proposals must address at least two of the key representative risks identified in the call.
The VPR is gathering Queen's research experts to begin collaboration and knowledge sharing ahead of the pending announcement. The first brainstorming and networking session was held on December 9, with 50 Queen's researchers attending in-person and virtually.
Details about collaboration opportunities and funding timelines are available at queensu.ca/vpr/nfrf-int
Recent Honours and Awards
- Bhavin Shastri (Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy) has received the iCANX Young Scientist Award
- Wendy Powley (School of Computing) received the Distinguished Services Award from Computer Science Canada / Informatique Canada
- Bhavin Shastri (Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy) was recognized as a Clarivate 2022 Highly Cited Researchers
- John Smol (Biology) was awarded the Vega Medal from The Swedish Society of Anthropology and Geography
- Ammar Rashid (Medicine) received the Award of Excellence form the Ontario College of Family Physicians
- Marcia Finlayson (School of Rehabilitation Therapy) received Fellowship in the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
- Kristin Moriah (English) was awarded the Yasuo Sakakibara Prize for the American Studies Association for best paper by an international scholar at the conference
- Allyson Harrison (Psychology) received the Ontario Psychological Association's Award of Merit
Partnerships and Innovation
Queen’s continues to enhance the mobilization of innovative knowledge in the Queen’s and Kingston communities. Several initiatives include:
Fictionary
Writers can now visualize their story arc using artificial intelligence to gauge how their manuscript compares to fundamental storytelling components.
Tradvo
Intended for small businesses, Tradvo offers business profile options, allowing businesses to profile their goods and services, and connect with customers and suppliers.
Ontario’s Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework
Last year, the Queen’s Board of Trustees approved the institution’s Intellectual Property Commercialization Policy. An integral component of Ontario’s Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework, the Policy will serve to strengthen innovation support services, programs and related activities at Queen’s and beyond.
Queen’s first Annual Commercialization Plan (ACP) will highlight progress and future directions in intellectual property and commercialization activities, including commercialization outcomes that benefit Ontarians.
The ACP is being prepared for submission to Intellectual Property Ontario by March 15.
For more information, please visit the Innovate Queen’s website.