Grants and Contributions

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are meant to nurture the interest of the students and fully develop their potential for a research career in the natural sciences and engineering. They are also meant to encourage students to undertake graduate studies in these fields. Students who would like to gain research experience in an academic setting, these awards can provide financial support through the hosting university. NSERC encourages qualified Aboriginal students to apply to this program.

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are meant to nurture the interest of the students and fully develop their potential for a research career in the natural sciences and engineering. They are also meant to encourage students to undertake graduate studies in these fields. Students who would like to gain research experience in an academic setting, these awards can provide financial support through the hosting university. NSERC encourages qualified Aboriginal students to apply to this program.

The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are meant to nurture the interest of the students and fully develop their potential for a research career in the natural sciences and engineering. They are also meant to encourage students to undertake graduate studies in these fields. Students who would like to gain research experience in an academic setting, these awards can provide financial support through the hosting university. NSERC encourages qualified Aboriginal students to apply to this program.

This grant supports a study on the movement and habitat use of hyperabundant white-tailed deer within Thousand Islands National Park and the surrounding ecosystem. This research will inform actions for vegetation management, landscape connectivity, wildlife corridors, and understanding movement of zoonotic pathogens. The study will also explore how deer move across major highways in the corridor and the impacts of roads on wildlife movement.

This project aims to enhance the communication capabilities of CubeSats—small, cost-effective satellites that are transforming space exploration, communications, and defense. While CubeSats provide affordable access to space, their future potential is limited by constrained data transmission capacity, which hampers their ability to support advanced missions. To address this, the project will develop a compact, high-performance, and cost efficient optical amplifier system to enable high-speed laser communication. With an innovative optical design, this solution will optimize size, weight, and power (SWaP), reduce costs, support large-scale manufacturing, and improve readiness for space deployment. The ultimate goal is to deliver a fully qualified optical amplifier that meets the needs of next-generation CubeSat constellations and missions. This technology will support key applications such as Earth observation, scientific research in space, remote connectivity, and defense, while also strengthening Canada’s leadership and sovereignty in advanced technology and space communications.

Rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking (RPOD) are necessary for all inter-spacecraft interactions in space. This includes in-space services such as crew & cargo transportation to the International Space Station, refueling or repairing satellites, reusable logistics, space debris removal, and beyond. Legacy RPOD systems are large, consume large amounts of power, and are extremely expensive. Obruta’s modern solution, called the RPOD Kit, is designed for modern satellites and provides virtually any spacecraft with RPOD capabilities to simplify the process of satellite servicing while making spaceflight safer. While Obruta’s autonomous flight software has been developed and tested in space, the accompanying hardware sensor components and overall system must be tested. This project focuses on the testing and validation of Obruta’s RPOD Kit to prepare it for an inaugural spaceflight mission and to reestablish Canada as a world leader in RPOD technology.

This project aims to develop the DeCAF-RRT, a wide-area monitoring tool using satellite Earth observation (SEO), to support salmon habitat monitoring. Effective monitoring promotes healthy ecosystems, sustainable biodiversity, and stable salmon populations for food and economic security.

This project aims to integrate SEO data into spatially explicit bird abundance models to enhance biodiversity conservation and land-use planning in Canada.

Biofect Innovations is recruiting a part-time Research Assistant to accelerate both our high-titer Brazzein strain-optimization and business-development activities. In the lab, they’ll prepare reagents, run routine assays (PCR, small-scale fermentations), manage electronic lab notebooks, and maintain inventory. On the business side, they’ll work to conduct market and customer research, support BD materials (competitive analyses, pitch decks, etc.), and track partnership opportunities. This dual role frees senior scientists for advanced R&D and enables more rapid market engagement.

The project involves working on machine intelligence and new concepts for weeding attachments to improve robotic agricultural equipment for automated mechanical weeding of root vegetable crops.