Research Funding for Centre of Geographic Sciences

The Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) at the Nova Scotia Community College's Annapolis Valley Campus is getting $475,000 in provincial funding to buy new equipment for its researchers.

The investment is being made through the Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust Fund. It was announced today, Dec. 12, by MLA Frank Chipman, on behalf of Education Minister Jane Purves.

"The province's funding will help COGS researchers, who are leaders in their field, to purchase new equipment and continue building on their expertise," said Mr. Chipman. "The benefits of this investment are widespread. The research conducted at COGS has been turned into a richer agricultural industry and increased activity in other research groups."

The $15-million trust fund was established in 2001 to help Nova Scotia's universities and colleges cover the costs of research infrastructure.

"NSCC's Centre of Geographic Sciences has already established a significant applied research program, which is an important focal point of learning and economic development for Nova Scotia," said Ray Ivany, president, NSCC. "The provincial government investment announced today enhances faculty and student capacity at NSCC, and it is good news for the clients and partners supported by this centre of expertise."

The province's funding will be used to purchase field instruments and computers for researchers at the Applied Geomatics Research Group at COGS. The group houses geomatics technologies including remote sensing, global positioning systems and geographic information systems. GPS can accurately determine the geographic location of any place on earth. Geographic information systems software is used to digitally manipulate landscape data.

The group is conducting research on remote sensing in the Annapolis Valley. Remote sensing looks at landscape from space or an aircraft. A portion of the funding will be used to buy field instruments to validate the results of the research.

The research facility has recently expanded to accommodate more researchers. Another portion of the funding will buy new computers for the additional researchers.

One immediate benefit of the group's research results is apparent as the Annapolis Valley's agricultural industry evaluates conditions for new crops and practices. Other environmental research groups will also benefit from this expertise when conducting their own research.

"The work we do here on climate change and environmental health impacts the public, the local agriculture industry and other research organizations," said Bob Maher, senior research scientist at COGS. "In all cases, the partners recognize the unique expertise of our applied research group in relation to geographic information systems, GPS and remote sensing."

Projects that receive grants from the trust fund also receive about the same amount in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The foundation previously announced $475,000 for these projects at the college. The college also received $183,000 from private partners.

"Providing Nova Scotia's research institutions with cutting-edge infrastructure will enable the province's researchers to move forward with their work," said David Strangway, foundation CEO and president. "Canada must continue to support its researchers if we want to rank among the most innovative countries in the world."

The Canada Foundation for Innovation is an independent, not-for- profit corporation established by the government of Canada in 1997 to strengthen the capacity for innovation in Canadian universities and research institutions.

The Nova Scotia Community College is committed to accessible, high-quality, industry-specific education that allows all Nova Scotians to participate in the province's ever-growing economy. For more information about the college, including its applied research mandate, visit its Web site, at www.nscc.ns.ca .