{"id":59574,"date":"2019-08-12T15:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T19:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=59574"},"modified":"2019-08-20T09:05:24","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T13:05:24","slug":"funding-helps-researchers-land-state-of-the-art-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/08\/funding-helps-researchers-land-state-of-the-art-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"Funding helps researchers land state-of-the-art equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beneath the waters off the southeast coast of Sicily lies a shipwreck that tells scintillating tales of ancient Mediterranean commerce, culture and connectiveness.<\/p>\n

The so-called\u00a0\u2018Church Wreck\u2019\u00a0that\u00a0dates\u00a0back to the sixth-century\u00a0AD\u00a0transported\u00a0marble components of a late antique\u00a0church\u00a0as its primary cargo.<\/p>\n

During their seven years of study<\/a> at Marzamemi, Italy, Brock University Associate Professor of Classics Elizabeth Greene and collaborators from Stanford University, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, and the Soprintendenza del Mare in Sicily have also found ceramic containers that were likely filled with wine or olive oil, the sailors\u2019 own dining wares, and nails from a surprisingly lightly built vessel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese indicate the interdependence of high-end official shipments and everyday private commerce,\u201d says Greene.<\/p>\n

Greene and her colleagues are eager to share their research findings with a broad audience in a vivid, interactive and engaging way, linking the church wreck to other maritime activities such as naval warfare, fishing and migration.<\/p>\n

They will now be able to do so thanks to funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation\u2019s John R. Evans Leaders Fund<\/a> (JELF).<\/p>\n

Greene is among three Brock researchers being awarded more than $455,000 from the fund, which helps \u201cexceptional researchers at universities across the country conduct leading-edge research by giving them the tools and equipment they need to become leaders in their field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock University Professor of Chemistry Georgii Nikonov and Professor of Physics Fereidoon Razavi also received funding.<\/p>\n

Associate Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn lauds the JELF, saying that such support is foundational for Brock and other universities \u201cto pursue work that makes a difference in society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work cannot happen without substantial investment in infrastructure,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m excited that this funding places state-of-the-art equipment into the hands of our researchers and scholars as they contribute greater knowledge and insights into their fields.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new equipment also means enhanced experiential learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate\u00a0students, says McGinn.<\/p>\n

Among the equipment and software Greene will be purchasing is a 3D laser scanner for recording, reconstructing and displaying ancient and historic watercraft. This and other equipment will shed light on \u201ccontemporary issues of human connectivity,\u201d says Greene.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuided by new advances in technology for 3D documentation, our innovative approach to heritage situates archaeological exploration of the past as a means of gaining perspective into present and future experiences of the people who cross the Mediterranean and the seas that divide and bridge our global society,\u201d says Greene.<\/p>\n

With his funding, Nikonov will be replacing a key part of Brock\u2019s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNMR spectroscopy is the main physico-chemical technique for characterizing a wide spectrum of organic, biological and inorganic objects,\u201d says Nikonov, noting that the current console, which is to be replaced, is outdated and obsolete.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new, replacement console and its accompanying software will support Brock\u2019s current and future research endeavours in chemistry, physics, biochemistry, biotechnology and biology,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

With his funding, Razavi will be purchasing a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), \u201ca fundamental piece of infrastructure that every research-intensive university should own because it is of such widespread use in all areas of science,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The SEM is an \u201cessential tool\u201d that examines the micro-structure of materials and the elemental composition of compounds. Razavi says the microscope is used in physics, health and life sciences research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant was made possible with the added contribution of Professors of Physics Maureen Reedyk and David Crandles,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Canada Foundation for Innovation invests in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada\u2019s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions with the aim of attracting and retaining the world\u2019s top talent, training the next generation of researchers and supporting world-class research that strengthens the economy and improves quality of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beneath the waters off the southeast coast of Sicily lies a shipwreck that tells scintillating tales of ancient Mediterranean commerce, culture and connectiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":59582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,3319,4052,55,37,41,1,4,5],"tags":[1570,5688,144,1583,4937,8157,384,348,8156,4245,8155,8154,6614],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59574"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59583,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574\/revisions\/59583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}