from the World-Watch dept.
With funding provided by the Canadian federal and the Alberta provincial governments, Canada will create a National Research Centre facility devoted to nanotechnology. The new NRC facility will be located at the University of Alberta in the provincial capital of Edmonton. Funding for the center will total about $CN 100 million, with roughly equal contributions from federal and provincial sources.
National and political motivations played a large role in the decision to establish the center in Alberta, which does not currently have a NRC facility. However, the University of Alberta is a good choice: UA already has made nanotechnology research a priority, and has 60 faculty members with expertise in the area — more than any other Canadian university.
Read more for links to press coverage of the announcement. Coverage of the announcement of the NRC facility at the University of Alberta appeared in:
- The Toronto Star ("Nanotechnology to get mega-funding", by Peter Calamai, 18 August 2001)
- And an editorial in the The Edmonton Journal ("Grant puts Canada in nano game", 22 August 2001) provides some background on the politics behind the decision.
Additional background on nanotech research at the U of Alberta can be found in these items from the UA alumni magazine (Summer 2001 issue), and the university press office in April 2001 and May 2001.
