Dr. Peter Tremaine receives $2.5 million in funding
Dr. Peter Tremaine, a chemistry professor at the University of Guelph, has been awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Senior Industrial Research Chair in High-Temperature Aqueous Chemistry. The announcement, which took place in McLaughlin 307 on Nov. 9, was attended by local MP Lloyd Longfield, NSERC president Mario Pinto, and representatives from organizations involved in the nuclear energy sector.
Dr. Malcolm Campbell, vice-president of research at the University of Guelph, opened the afternoon by celebrating Guelph’s many achievements, with the NSERC announcement being the sixth funding announcement for the university this year. Campbell celebrated the grant by saying, “This is an incredible honour for Professor Tremaine and his research team, and for the entire University.”
The NSERC chair is valued at close to $2.5 million over a five-year period, with $1 million coming from the nuclear energy industry.The focus of Tremaine’s research is to extend the life of Canada’s existing heavy-water nuclear reactors, improve the long-term storage of drained fuel, and diminish the radiation fields that exist around nuclear reactors.
MP Longfield, who provided the official announcement of the new chair, said, “Our government is proud to support the important work of talented researchers like Professor Tremaine, who is collaborating with industrial partners to modernize our nuclear energy industry and address issues like global warming.”
Tremaine thanked his students and post-doc fellows for their assistance in his work on how to make existing reactors more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Tremaine focused on the global importance of having environmentally-friendly reactors and the responsibility on Canada for nurturing their own scientific community in dealing with nuclear energy.
“We need to have our own expertise when dealing with these facilities,” said Tremaine.
Tremaine’s lab is one of the few facilities in the world that has the necessary environment to study water chemistry under similar conditions to those found in a nuclear facility, and the NSERC chair funding will be used to keep the lab state of the art.
In regards to his own research, Tremaine said, “The excitement of the research comes from tackling challenges and questions that benefit Canadians, while contributing in-depth understanding to an important area of basic research.”
The NSERC grant will also be used to hire a new researcher in the field of nuclear energy for the facility. Tremaine’s own excellence in his field was lauded, but there was also a focus put on the future of nuclear research at the University of Guelph.
Tremaine joked that he won’t be around forever, and that the grant will fund “projects that will have a deep, long-lasting scientific impact.” The NSERC grant will allow for the University of Guelph to operate as a leader in the field of nuclear energy research in Canada.
[media-credit name=”Mariah Bridgeman” align=”aligncenter” width=”1020″]
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman.