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Submitted by sgarcia on Wed, 2010-06-23 15:12.

June 24, 2010

"Outstanding research programs" spurred on with major funding

Andrew MacRae (left), a PhD physics student, and Alexander Lvovsky, a
professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, adjust their laser
array.
If money is the fuel that drives the rate of
research, three members of the University of Calgary's Faculty of Science
have just received some welcome pressure on the pedal.

The Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has awarded
Alexander Lvovsky, Alex Brudnyi and Raymond J. Turner discovery
accelerator grants, designed to push the recipients’ research into turbo
drive.

Each award, worth $120,000 over three years, aims to
provide "substantial and timely additional resources to accelerate
progress, and maximize the impact of outstanding research programs,"
according to NSERC. Across Canada, 125 researchers received funding
through these Discovery Accelerator Supplements.

Quantum physicist
Lvovsky's work focuses on exploring quantum optical technology. His
research grant will be used to expand on recent successes such as his
lab's experiments building with microscopic light particles or photons,
connecting them with other photons in a way never achieved before.

Lvovsky, a professor in Physics and Astronomy says the
applications of quantum physics are enormous.

"This includes, in
particular, faster computers, secure communication lines, control over
chemical reactions, and measurements of unprecedented precision."

Turner, a professor in Biological Sciences, is interested in the
biochemistry and physiology of bacteria, specifically looking at how
bacteria deal with a variety of antimicrobial agents. This grant will
allow Turner's research group to concentrate primarily on the small
multidrug resistance (SMR) family of proteins.

"The long-term is
to provide a biochemical and biophysical picture of SMR proteins," says
Turner. "These are a particular interest as they are a model system for
other multidrug resistance proteins including those that help lead to
bacterial multidrug resistance and those that contribute to cancer
chemotherapy problems."

Alex Brudnyi, an associate professor of
mathematics, says his award will finance extra help in the form of two
post-doctoral students. Together they will continue to attempt to solve
some of mathematics’ most complex problems, first proposed by Henri
Poincaré, one of the greatest mathematicians of the last century.

"Much of our work is quite complicated and theoretical," says
Brudnyi. "You can't always show explicitly the results, and apply them to
a real-world problem. So this recognition of our theoretical research is
very significant for me."

For more information: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsRelease-CommuniqueDePresse_eng.asp?ID=201

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