River research among projects to receive CFI funds
Jeremy Venditti, 778.782.3488, 604.767.2247 (cell); jgvenditti@yahoo.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.4323
SFU geographer Jeremy Venditti is spending his days in Mission mapping the velocity of the Fraser River - data that will help him better understand the makeup and dynamics of the river’s bottom.
He’ll use that information to run experiments later this month in his environmental fluid and sediment dynamics lab, where a flume channel – providing him with a scale model of the Fraser - allows him to investigate flow resistance in rivers and better estimate potential flooding impacts.
Venditti is one of four SFU researchers sharing nearly $1 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Leaders Opportunity Fund. The funds will support equipment for high-resolution, high frequency, velocity field mapping in his lab.
Michel Leroux, an associate professor in molecular biology and biochemistry, and associates Nicholas Harden and Harald Hutter, will benefit from the acquisition of a confocal microscope, an instrument that allows cell biologists to peer with great detail into the inner workings of cells and organisms.
The microscope will be used to precisely visualize the behaviour of various cellular components, including proteins, and to observe neurons and other cell types in intact model organisms such as C. elegans (a nematode) and Drosophila (a fruit fly).
Experiments with the microscope will provide new insights into fundamental biological processes relating to human health and diseases, including birth defects, neuropathies, kidney disease and cancer.
Rodney Vaughan in engineering science will acquire funds towards an antenna radiation pattern measurement facility, created to help advance wireless technology in Western Canada. The facility provides companies with key technical support in pattern measurement and design, and trains students in wireless applications, for communications, security and medical imaging.
Funds will also go towards the Audio Video Imaging (AVI) Pre-school Research Centre, designed to investigate child development, innovative curriculum practices, family involvement and audio-visual documentation of early learning. The centre involves a partnership between the Faculty of Education, the Community Trust (UniverCity) and the SFU Childcare Society.
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