Researchers at the University of Windsor will now have more resources to advance discoveries in science and engineering.
Twenty-eight research programs at the university have been awarded close $4.4 million in federal funding.
The university's cut of $588-million in cash is being released under the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada's Discovery Grants program.
According to the university, the money will fund programs advancing auditory processing, Great Lakes research, self-driving vehicles, the treatment of industrial wastewater, and the effect of orbital debris on robotic satellites — to name a few.
The Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research will see $1-million spread between its affiliated faculties over the next five years.
That's according to Executive Director Mike McKay who says the bulk of that money will go towards getting people out into the field.
"These are sort of the bread and butter operating grants for scientists at Canadian Universities. It will allow us to do the research and also allow us to employ and train graduate students," he says.
McKay tells AM800 News studying 84% of North America's fresh water isn't cheap, so having money to pay researchers takes a lot of pressure off.
"We rely a lot actually on in-kind funding through our partners, whether they are agencies or private sector. In my case, I'm working both with the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Environment," added McKay.
He says the money will help provide new opportunities for many looking to get into the field of aquatic research.
"We now have some dedicated salary lines where we can hire graduate students to be research assistants, we can hire technicians and post-doctoral fellows to lead various components of the research," he says.
More than 4,850 researchers across the country received funding under the program.