Major NSERC Grant Advances Chemistry Research at Redeemer
2 min. read
May 5, 2010

Darren Brouwer, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, was awarded a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) worth $150,000 over a five-year period. The NSERC Discovery Grant program is designed to promote and maintain a diversified base of high-quality research capability in the natural sciences and engineering in Canadian universities, to foster research excellence, and to provide a stimulating environment for research training. Dr. Brouwer’s grant proposal is entitled “New Methods for Structure Determination of Materials by Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy” and his research program involves developing new methods for determining the structures of materials at the atomic and molecular level. The research money will be used to provide Redeemer undergraduate students who are studying chemistry as a major or a minor with cutting-edge scientific research experience during the summer months, providing the training that will make Redeemer science students excellent candidates for graduate school and employment. The research money will allow the chemistry department to expand its research and teaching capabilities by purchasing new scientific equipment. Furthermore, the grant will allow Dr. Brouwer and his research students to access world-class research facilities at other Canadian institutions such as McMaster University and the National Research Council in Ottawa. The grant will also enable Dr. Brouwer and his research students to attend national and international scientific conferences to present the results of their research. Dr. Brouwer already has three Redeemer science students working with him on various research projects this summer, two of whom were awarded prestigious NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards. Dr. Brouwer’s success in obtaining this research grant continues a tradition of strong emphasis on research in the Sciences Division at Redeemer. Several of his colleagues – Edward Berkelaar in Environmental Science, Kyle Spyksma in Physics, Kevin Vandermeulen in Mathematics and Gary Chiang in Biology – have received significant research grants from NSERC and other sources over the years, providing many Redeemer science students with outstanding experience and training beyond what is taught during the regular academic year.

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