The equipment showcased at the Prince George campus today will help provide new information about effective resource management and environmental stewardship - key issues for the long-term health of the northern BC economy:

The Industrial Computerized Tomography Scanner will provide researchers with unique views of internal plant, soil, tree, and mineral structures. Working just like a cat-scan in a hospital - except much larger - the equipment provides views of wood grains, log density, the effects of insects, three-dimensional soil structures, etc. The scanner will be the first of its kind in Canada. The $3.2 million cost is being shared by CFI, BCKDF, and Forintek.

The Centre for Environmental Disturbance Assessment Research (CEDAR) will examine the short and long-term impacts of resource extraction on animal habitats. Researchers will study the impact of disturbance at the behavioural, physiological, and the even the molecular levels - assessing all factors in a single research centre is unique in Canada, but it's critical for northern BC, where resource extraction forms the economic base. CEDAR is a $412,000 program supported by CFI, BCKDF, and equipment suppliers.

A new $1.4 million High-Performance Computing facility has recently been opened at the University. The lab is providing UNBC researchers with powerful tools to expand knowledge in atmospheric science, forestry resource planning, and molecular modeling. The high-performance computer is the first of its kind in BC and provides opportunities to build detailed three-dimensional moving models. The equipment is already being used for landscape modeling, studies of the Prince George airshed, and a project that is examining the link between air temperature, water temperature, and water flows over time. The facility has been developed with support from SGI (an industry leader in computer visualization), CFI, and BCKDF.

"Today's announcement demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to strengthening Canada's capacity for innovation by investing in research and development in our universities and research hospitals", said the Honourable Brian Tobin, Minister of Industry. "I warmly congratulate all recipients."

Dr. David Strangway, President and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, remarked, "The partnership of the CFI, BCKDF and Forintek with the University of Northern British Columbia contributes to strengthening our capacity to preserve our intellectual capital, and to support the development of innovation and world-class expertise in the heartland of Canada's lumber industry."

The CFI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation established by the Federal Government in 1997 to strengthen the capacity for innovation in Canadian universities and research institutions. The CFI contributes 40 percent towards eligible project costs, with universities, colleges, hospitals and not-for-profit research institutions identifying the remaining 60 per cent matching funds.

Total BCKDF funding for the three projects is $1.86 million. The $217-million BC Knowledge Development Fund was established in 1998 to improve the province's research infrastructure over eight years. The fund is designed to help buy research equipment and build facilities. By 2006, the fund is expected to lever a total of $542 million in research investments at BC's public post-secondary institutions. To date, UNBC has received a total of $2.26 million for six Knowledge Development Fund projects.

"Our ability to acquire such cutting-edge technology would simply not have been possible without the vision of Forintek and SGI, and the investments from our federal and provincial governments," says UNBC President Charles Jago. "What's important is that our researchers are having access to new tools for the study of issues that really matter in northern BC."

UNBC recently created a strategic research plan that will focus research activity at the University around three themes: natural resources and the environment, rural and northern health, and community sustainability. The new equipment showcased today will support research that supports these themes, as do UNBC's first Canada Research Chairs.