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Press Release

Thursday, March 09, 2017

Professor Luc Tremblay receives $570,000 in funding for state-of-the-art research infrastructure

Luc Tremblay, a professor in the Université de Moncton’s chemistry and biochemistry department, recently received $570,000 in grants to fund the purchase of state-of-the-art technological infrastructure which will serve to support research in geochemistry and oceanography.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), have each provided the professor with $220,000, while the Université de Moncton’s science faculty and graduate studies and research faculty will jointly provide $20,000 to the project. The remainder of the funding is through an in-kind donation from a supplier.

“This funding demonstrates once again to what point our professors are dedicated to advancing scientific research in the country,” said Raymond Théberge, President and Vice-Chancellor. “Our researchers required tools to support their work. We are certainly grateful to these funding bodies and the private sector who contribute to funding research. As a university, we are also proud to play a lead role in this project which will allow for important advancements in the field of geochemistry.”

“These funds will be used to purchase a system which will contribute to shedding light on the chemical, biological or geographical origin of various types of samples or molecules present in a complex mixture of molecules,” Professor Tremblay explained. “This type of system does not exist in the Maritimes, so it will be used in various research projects and in training experts in analytical chemistry at the Université de Moncton.”

The purchase includes a stable isotopes analysis platform composed of gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (GC-IRMS) and elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS). This infrastructure is at the heart of future projects in Professor Tremblay’s research.

The general goal of his research is to better understand the roles played by organic matter in aquatic systems through the development and use of new analytical tools. Understanding these roles in major processes - such as the climate and the health of ecosystems - is done through a better description of the organic matter’s composition.

The scientific goals which will be worked toward over the next five years – goals which require this platform – fall under two research themes. First, there is a desire to know why some natural organic molecules are not degraded in oceans. As well, research will be done to determine the origin of natural gas escaping from a zone rich in shale gas.

While Professor Tremblay is the project’s initiator, several research projects in the Université de Moncton’s science faculty require isotopic analyses. The system will be used by university researchers as well those outside of the university.



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