Why university research matters

» Frontiers of knowledge

Expanding the boundaries of ocean science

Oceans cover approximately 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, and yet our knowledge of these vitally important environments remains very limited. To help address this, Canadian scientists have deployed a state-of-the-art undersea observatory to collect data on the least understood ecosystem on the planet. The NEPTUNE Canada project, based at the University of Victoria, is the world’s first cabled undersea laboratory and will measure the changing biological, chemical and physical properties of the sea floor. Scientists will also be able to better understand the driving forces behind earthquakes, volcanoes and continental movements.

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Quantum computing

Researchers from the University of Waterloo and Université de Sherbrooke played a key role in a project housed at Yale University, resulting in the successful operation of a quantum computer processor, a major step in the development of quantum computing. Although it may be a while before a quantum computer becomes widely available to the public, the team has overcome a major hurdle with the successful operation of the first electrically controlled solid-state quantum processor.

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Mapping the brain

Researchers at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute have improved our understanding of how the human brain is mapped. Experiments by this team over the last several decades have demonstrated that individuals can learn new skills without keeping any memory of having done so, and also that people have multiple memory systems which govern our activities. These findings have guided the creation of various pre-surgical evaluation procedures and the manner in which neurosurgeons fix problems without causing patients to lose function in other areas.

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Delivering Martian weather reports

A Canadian-built meteorological station, part of the Phoenix Mars Lander, has provided space explorers with the first comprehensive picture of the Martian climate and proof that snow has existed on Mars! The research team, led by York University, designed and built the meteorological station, which arrived on Mars in May 2008. Phoenix continued to operate successfully for five months, gathering thousands of photographs and using its robotic arm to dig samples of the Martian soil for on-board analysis.

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