March 12, 2004 For Immediate Release

A powerful and popular research centre at the University of Northern British Columbia has received a funding commitment from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to expand its capacity.

CFI is investing just over $800,000 to enhance the University’s High-Performance Computing facility, the only one of its kind in the region. This computing facility has provided UNBC researchers with powerful tools to build three-dimensional models and computerized simulations. To date, more than 85 researchers have used its capacity for research on such topics as salmon habitat, atmospheric modeling, and long-term land use management. The planned enhancements to the facility include a faster and more powerful server, larger data storage capability, and an increased number of workstations, linked to a GIS and remote sensing lab.

It’s expected that the enhanced equipment will support research on mapping health care utilization, air quality, the role of forests in regional/global climate change, and the particular properties of wood for the development of value-added products.

The investment at UNBC is part of a $585.9 million commitment from the Federal Government to support research infrastructure at universities, colleges, hospitals, and research institutions. The CFI is an independent corporation created in 1997 by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure necessary to carry out world-class research that will benefit Canadians.

The announcement was made at the University by David Strangway, President and CEO of the CFI. “We can say with conviction that Canada is becoming a place where world-class researchers want to be,” says Dr Strangway.

The High-Performance Computing facility was originally created at UNBC in 2000 with partial funding from CFI and the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund.