Paul Zelisko is investigating how to make products that contain silicone polymers last longer so that they don’t end up in the garbage dump too soon. And he’s turning to Mother Nature for inspiration to do so.

The human-manufactured, rubber-like substance is found in countless products ranging from cosmetics to sealants, clothing to cooking utensils, insulation and lubricants, among others.

But many of these products wear out quickly, says the Brock University Associate Professor of Chemistry.

“We’re looking to combine naturally occurring renewable resources with silicones so that they can heal themselves when damaged and also to enable them to be easily recyclable,” says Zelisko.

He’s one of 27 Brock University researchers to receive more than $4.8 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Discover/Explore program.

These grants are part of a national funding announcement made Tuesday, Aug. 29 by Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Randy Boissonnault, on behalf of François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Mark Holland, Minister of Health. Brock University also received a $2.5-million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), SSHRC Insight Grants totalling $965,636 and more than $295,000 from Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Also receiving Discover/Explore program funding for their projects are Brock researchers Michael Pisaric and Kevin Turner, whose work focuses on how climate change is affecting northern ecosystems and hydrology.

Pisaric, Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies, is examining climate and environmental data preserved in tree rings and lake sediment to determine how wildfires and insect infestations have changed the landscape and the impacts of recent wildfires on permafrost thaw and forest regeneration.

Turner, Associate Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies, is using leading-edge survey techniques to map climate-change driven northern landscape disturbances, including landslides, drained lakes, shrub growth and fire, and identify their impacts on lakes and rivers.

He will use this information to anticipate how important permafrost environments will respond to future change.

Pisaric notes that “northern regions are showing early warning signs of climate change impacts and will experience the brunt of climate change impacts. The climate and environmental changes in the Arctic will filter down to lower latitudes as we are seeing in 2023 across the world.”

Brock University’s results for NSERC programs like Discovery Grants and Research Tools and Instruments are at a historic high, says Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon.

“The total amount of funding received and number of applicants receiving funding surpassed any previous competition years we have on record for the last decade,” he says. “The exceptional results we’re seeing this year speak to the calibre of applications submitted by Brock researchers and the impact of their work in many areas including the natural environment, health care and technology.

“This funding from NSERC will allow us to continue generating information, knowledge and insights that can be applied for the betterment of society,” says Kenyon.

Brock recipients of NSERC’s Discovery Grant, which supports ongoing research programs with long-term goals rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects, are:

• Syed Ahmed, Professor, Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Shrinkage, Pretest and Penalty Strategies in High Dimensional Data Analysis”
• Shengrong Bu, Associate Professor, Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Flexible and Secure Multi-Energy Microgrids for Urban Energy Systems Decarbonization through Digital and Artificial Intelligence Technologies”
• Vincenzo De Luca, Professor, Biological Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Discovery and Regulation of Monoterpenoid Alkaloid Pathway”
• Jianbo Gao, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Break the Shockley-Queisser limit and develop a new generation of hot carrier solar cells”
• William Gittings, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “The role of pannexin channels and purinergic signalling in skeletal muscle physiology”
• Kiyoko Gotanda, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science,“Human influences on rapid adaptation and phenotypic change”
• Michael Holmes, Associate Professor, Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “Central and peripheral contributions to forearm muscle function and hand control”
• Sheridan Houghten, Professor, Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Computational Techniques for Modelling and Analysis of Biological and Biomedical Data”
• Panagiota Klentrou, Professor, Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “Systematic examination of factors mediating osteocatabolism in humans”
• Ping Liang, Professor, Biological Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “The roles of transposable elements in genomes”
• Caitlin Mahy, Professor, Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, “The development of prospective memory in children: The role of reminders and metacognitive abilities”
• Vaughn Mangal, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Molecular Biogeochemistry of Organic Matter and Implications for Inorganic Contaminant Transport”
• Amir Mofidi, Associate Professor, Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “The Production and the Use of Sustainable Bamboo-based Construction Materials”
• Toby Mündel, Professor, Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “(How) Do Estrogen and Progesterone Influence Human Temperature Regulation? A Multi-Model Approach”
• Georgii Nikonov, Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Low-valent main group compounds for activation of small molecules and catalysis”
• Michael Pisaric, Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, “Paleoecological investigations of wildfire and vegetation change in Yukon Territory in response to changing climatic conditions.”
• Mariek Schmidt, Professor, Earth Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Mars Rover and Terrestrial Analog Studies to Unravel the Igneous and Overprinting Alteration Histories of Volcanic Rocks”
• Newman Sze, Professor, Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “Understanding degenerative protein modifications as molecular mediators of biological aging”
• Kevin Turner, Associate Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, “Investigating spatial and temporal patterns and downstream implications of climate-driven disturbance in northern Yukon, Canada”
• Paul Zelisko, Associate Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Silicon Biotechnology and Bio-Inspired Silicon Chemistry”

The following researchers were awarded the Discovery Launch Supplement, which supports early career researchers as they establish a Discovery Grant-funded research program:

• Shengrong Bu, Associate Professor, Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Flexible and Secure Multi-Energy Microgrids for Urban Energy Systems Decarbonization through Digital and Artificial Intelligence Technologies”
• William Gittings, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “The role of pannexin channels and purinergic signalling in skeletal muscle physiology”
• Kiyoko Gotanda, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Human influences on rapid adaptation and phenotypic change”
• Vaughn Mangal, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Molecular Biogeochemistry of Organic Matter and Implications for Inorganic Contaminant Transport”
• Amir Mofidi, Associate Professor, Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “The Production and the Use of Sustainable Bamboo-based Construction Materials”

Those who received Discovery Development Grants, which provides support to researchers from small universities whose applications were deemed to be of appropriate quality, are:

• Jeffrey Atkinson, Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Bola-lipids as probes and disrupters of biological membrane”
• Omar Kihel, Professor, Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Indices of Number Fields, Ore’s Conjecture, and Monogenizations”
• Martin Lemaire, Associate Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Redox-active ligand coordination chemistry for molecule-based magnetic materials and quantum science”
• Costa Metallinos, Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Advancing Epimeric Pyrroloimidazolones in Asymmetric Synthesis”

Recipients of the Northern Research Supplement, which augments and promote Canadian university-based northern research and training, are:

• Michael Pisaric, Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, “Paleoecological investigations of wildfire and vegetation change in Yukon Territory in response to changing climatic conditions.”
• Kevin Turner, Associate Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, “Investigating spatial and temporal patterns and downstream implications of climate-driven disturbance in northern Yukon, Canada”

Research Tools and Instruments supports the purchase of research equipment. Recipients are:

• Jianbo Gao, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Break the Shockley-Queisser limit and develop a new generation of hot carrier solar cells”
• Jasneet Kaur, Assistant Professor, Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Atomic Force Microscope for Nanostructured Two-Dimensional Materials and Beyond”
• Paul Leblanc, Professor, Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “High resolution integrated respirometry and fluorometry system for cellular and subcellular metabolic assessment”
• Melanie Pilkington, Associate Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, “Urgently needed replacement of the alternative current magnetic susceptibility ACMS(I) coil set to repair the Physical Property Management System (PPMS)”