UNBC records dramatic research income growth

UNBC saw its research income see the biggest jump out of any university of its size in the latest edition of Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities.

The school received $12.9 million in research income during the 2019 fiscal year, a 42.5 percent increase from 2018.

The nearly $4 million increase helped UNBC jump four spots in the overall ranking to 42nd in Canada, which is their highest ranking in seven years.

“Through exploration, innovation, and partnerships, UNBC researchers continue to make discoveries that advance our knowledge-making significant positive impacts to our society,” says Interim President Dr. Geoff Payne.

“The substantial increase in research funding this year is further confirmation of the excellence of our faculty, students, and staff who work together to cultivate a preeminent research culture.”

UNBC also moved up the undergraduate tier table in two categories related to research intensity.

In the research dollars per faculty metric, the university moved up two spots into seventh place earning $66,000 in income per faculty member.

Some of the highlights from the past year include:

· The Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North, a new AGE-WELL National Innovation Hub, opened at UNBC.

· The NSERC/Rio Tinto Industrial Research Chair on Climate Change and Water Security partnership celebrated its first anniversary.

· Dr. Jianbing Li, an Environmental Engineering Professor led part of a national project to investigate improved methods to separate oil from water to make it more efficient and less costly to clean up marine oil spills. Fisheries and Oceans Canada pledged $1.9 million to fund the next stage of Li’s research through the multi-partner oil spill research initiative.

· UNBC researchers received more than $1.3 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Discovery Grant program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant program.