Electrical and computer engineering assistant professor Sze Hong (Scott) Yam was awarded $1.65 million for his training program on the next generation of optical networks. Chemistry professor Cathleen Crudden was awarded $1.57 million to help develop new technology for producing chiral molecules at the industrial level. 

The two were among 20 projects from across the country to receive funding through the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program.

"It feels both humbling and exciting to be taking on such responsibility for the training of graduate students in the area of optical communications," Professor Yam says. "I would like to thank the contributions by the co-investigators, industrial collaborators, and the office of VP research at Queen’s for getting the training programme off to a good start."

Over six years, the $32 million investment will help science and engineering graduates upgrade their skills for a successful transition to the workplace. The projects explore a variety of research areas, including photonics, climate change, civil engineering and optical networks.

NSERC funds more than 11,800 professors every year and encourages more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.

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