Clarisse Faria-Fortecoëf
A major national project in which, the Canadian government through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, is investing $ 7.7 million, ??and that brings together the main British Columbia's universities in the field of advanced materials science and engineering.
In the
Prometheus project's framework, the Simon Fraser University (
SFU) – project's leader -, the
University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia (
UBC) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (
BCIT), have received $7.7 million in funding from the Canada Foundation of Innovation (
CFI) in order to create a research hub for materials science and engineering innovation and commercialization.
Working with internationally recognized industrial, government, hospital and academic collaborators, scientists at the Prometheus partners’ labs, have for goal to innovate by developing:
- New solar-industry related materials and devices, including novel organic polymers, nanoparticles, and quantum dots, which will be integrated in low cost, high efficiency solar cell devices. The goal is to create a new generation of efficient solar cells that can compete in terms of cost with non-renewable technologies, surpassing older ones in terms of miniaturization and flexibility;
- miniaturized biosensors that can be used by individuals in clinical settings or at home to allow early detection of disease and treatment monitoring. They will be integrated into flexible electronic skins, allowing health conditions to be monitored in real-time;
- spintronics (magnetic devices) and quantum computing and information devices that will enable new approaches to significantly improve encrypted communication and security in financial transactions.
The Prometheus team already has a strong network of potential end users of resulting technologies. It is based on its members’ relationships with many of more than 25 companies in British Columbia commercializing solar, biomedical and quantum computing devices.
Researchers and industries worldwide will be able to access Prometheus’s new capabilities on an open-access basis.