The organization announced a total investment of $61,264,196 in 245 projects at 48 Canadian institutions. The funds, approved by the CFI's board during its meetings in June and November 2010, come from two separate sources: $47,126,305 from the Leaders Opportunity Fund, which funds Canadian university infrastructures so that they may attract and retain the very best researchers; and $14,137,891 from the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a complementary program that helps research institutions cope with the operating and maintenance costs of new infrastructures.

POLYTECHNIQUE RESEARCHERS DIRECT THE FOLLOWING CFI-FUNDED PROJECTS:

Architectures and Methodologies for the Design and Implementation of Application-Specific Processors for Real-Time Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery Assistance
Project leader: Pierre Langlois, Associate Professor, Department of Computer and Software Engineering
CFI grant: $114,482
This project aims to develop digital real-time systems to assist spinal surgery.

Key Infrastructure for Scanning, Analyzing and Manipulating 3D Visual Data
Project leader: Christopher Pal, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer and Software Engineering
CFI grant: $125,000
This project sets out to improve the quality of 3D reconstruction from traditional photography and video images as well as the quality of algorithms for object segmentation and recognition in complex scenes.

VESI (Very Efficient System Implementation) Laboratory
Project leader: Jean-Pierre David, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
CFI grant: $274,189
This project aims to acquire equipment that will help validate the circuits created based on industrial and scientific algorithms, contrasting or complementing more traditional approaches.

Laboratory for the Advanced Control of Microsystems
Project leader: Guchuan Zhu, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
CFI grant: $184,405
This project aims to establish a new laboratory for multidisciplinary and innovative research using a rapid prototyping platform that incorporates electronic and optical instruments, a powerful real-time calculation unit, a set of software tools and various optomechanical components.

Advanced Multilayer Films for High-Performance Flexible Packaging
Project leader: Abdellah Ajji, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
CFI grant: $200,000
This project focuses on developing advanced multilayer films for high-performance flexible packaging, particularly films with very high gas barriers, antibacterial/antimicrobial properties and possible pathogen detection functions.

Versatile semi-virtual test facility for hydronic heating and cooling equipment
Project leader: Michaël Kummert, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
CFI grant: $148,406
This project proposes creating a new semi-virtual, versatile laboratory for testing hydronic heating and cooling equipment.

About the CFI
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI's mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians. Since its creation in 1997, the CFI has committed $5.3 billion in support of more than 6,800 projects at 131 research institutions in 65 municipalities across Canada.

For the complete list of funded projects (by university), visit the CFI online: http://www.innovation.ca/fr/news?news_id=251

To read about each professor's expertise:
http://www.polymtl.ca/bottin/services.php