NBIF Closes ‘Emerging Projects’ Funding Round, Supports 18 Ventures Provincewide

A key aspect of the NBIF’s mission is to support research at its earliest stages. Ideas are always the launching pad for innovation, and without early support, many projects that would otherwise bloom into productive technologies or viable commercial products are instead left to wither on the vine.

The primary goal of the Emerging Project component of the NBIF’s Research Innovation Fund is to identify these projects with potential and provide up to $25,000 in funding to support research work that will occur over the next two years. The latest round of proposals was opened to New Brunswick-based researchers in October, and successful applicants were notified on December 17^th.

In total, $404,000 in funding was awarded to 18 research projects concentrated on the campuses of UNB Fredericton, UNB Saint John, Université de Moncton and Mt. Allison University. All of the recognized ventures feature work from brilliant researchers operating in fields as disparate as Advanced Manufacturing and Cannabis.

“The distribution of applicants is extremely diverse this round,” says Laura Richard, the NBIF’s Director of Research. “These funds are supporting researchers from fields as varied as biology, physics and social science, whom, despite the very different nature of their projects, are all linked by a promising applied research proposition with  a clear economic impact on the province.”

A major strength of the Emerging Projects funding program is its ability to highlight the breadth of the research taking place in New Brunswick. NBIF-supported researchers are studying everything from potential uses for brewery waste products (Dr. Xiomara Sanchez Castillo, UNB), to making food banks more efficient through data collection and analysis (Dr. Rob Moir, UNBSJ), to exploring untapped uses for bioactive content present in honeybee hives (Dr. Luc Boudreau, Universite de Moncton).

The ability of research to create social and economic good for New Brunswickers cannot be overstated.  The NBIF is proud to support the researchers, doctors, and professors who are putting this province on the map with their imagination and tenacious passion. Don’t be surprised if more than a few of these promising research concepts ripen into something stunning.