Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research enables Canadian
researcher
s to work on international research
teams that are custom built to transform their fields of study. Founded in 1982, CIFAR has embraced a groundbreaking research model that creates knowledge breakthroughs, advances Canada’s research community and drives innovation.
CIFAR research is aimed at creating knowledge with the potential to change profoundly how we understand our world. Supporting nearly 400 researchers in 16 countries, CIFAR’s research model is uniquely suited to long-term, multidisciplinary and collaborative advanced research.
CIFAR is a not-for-profit organization
, supported by individuals, foundations and corporations, as well as funding from the Government of Canada
and the Provinces of Ontario
, British Columbia
and Alberta
.
s, of which about half are located within Canada while the rest are located abroad. The staff is directly responsible to the Chairman and the Board of Directors
, who are responsible for funding allocation and approval of research programs. In 2001 Chaviva Hošek
was appointed president and CEO.
Archived Programs
CIFAR supports advanced research by providing program members with such time-freeing benefits as teaching release, funding to hire graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and general research funding.
The hallmark of the CIFAR research model is the unusual spirit of "deep collaboration" that is encouraged at regular program meetings. These meetings exist to bring together researchers from different countries, institutions, disciplines and levels of experience, who might never otherwise meet.
Since the Institute’s inception, 14 Nobel Laureates have been associated with CIFAR.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
s to work on international research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
teams that are custom built to transform their fields of study. Founded in 1982, CIFAR has embraced a groundbreaking research model that creates knowledge breakthroughs, advances Canada’s research community and drives innovation.
CIFAR research is aimed at creating knowledge with the potential to change profoundly how we understand our world. Supporting nearly 400 researchers in 16 countries, CIFAR’s research model is uniquely suited to long-term, multidisciplinary and collaborative advanced research.
CIFAR is a not-for-profit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, supported by individuals, foundations and corporations, as well as funding from the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
and the Provinces of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
Operations
CIFAR has an annual budget of $16 million Canadian dollars and employs 31 full time staff members. This staff supports the research of nearly 400 researcherResearcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
s, of which about half are located within Canada while the rest are located abroad. The staff is directly responsible to the Chairman and the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, who are responsible for funding allocation and approval of research programs. In 2001 Chaviva Hošek
Chaviva Hosek
Chaviva Milada Hošek, OC is a Canadian academic, feminist and former politician.-Background:The child of Holocaust survivors, Hošek was born to a Hungarian Jewish family living in Bohemia and raised in Montreal...
was appointed president and CEO.
Research topics
As of 2007, CIFAR supports research in 12 major multidisciplinary areas:- CosmologyCosmologyCosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
and GravityGravitationGravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their mass. Gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped...
(established 1986) - Earth System Evolution (established 1992)
- Integrated MicrobialMicroorganismA microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
Biodiversity (established 2007) - Experience-based BrainBrainThe brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
and Biological DevelopmentDevelopmental biologyDevelopmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
(established 2003) - Genetic NetworksGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
(established 2005) - Institutions, OrganizationOrganizationAn organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
s, and GrowthEconomic growthIn economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
(established 2004) - NanoelectronicsNanoelectronicsNanoelectronics refer to the use of nanotechnology on electronic components, especially transistors. Although the term nanotechnology is generally defined as utilizing technology less than 100 nm in size, nanoelectronics often refer to transistor devices that are so small that inter-atomic...
(established 1999) - Neural ComputationNeural networkThe term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
and Adaptive Perception (established 2004) - QuantumQuantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
Materials (established 1987) - Quantum Information ProcessingQuantum computerA quantum computer is a device for computation that makes direct use of quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. Quantum computers are different from traditional computers based on transistors...
(established 2002) - Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being (established 2005)
- Successful Societies (established 2002)
Archived Programs
- Artificial IntelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and RoboticsRoboticsRobotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots... - Evolutionary Biology
- Population HealthPopulation healthPopulation health has been defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire population. One major step in achieving this aim is to reduce health...
- Human DevelopmentHuman development (biology)Human development is the process of growing to maturity. In biological terms, this entails growth from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being.- Biological development:...
- Laws and the Determinants of Social OrderSocial orderSocial order is a concept used in sociology, history and other social sciences. It refers to a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which conserve, maintain and enforce "normal" ways of relating and behaving....
- Economic GrowthEconomic growthIn economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
and PolicyEconomic policyEconomic policy refers to the actions that governments take in the economic field. It covers the systems for setting interest rates and government budget as well as the labor market, national ownership, and many other areas of government interventions into the economy.Such policies are often... - Science of Soft Surfaces and InterfacesSoft matterSoft matter is a subfield of condensed matter comprising a variety of physical states that are easily deformed by thermal stresses or thermal fluctuations. They include liquids, colloids, polymers, foams, gels, granular materials, and a number of biological materials...
Process
CIFAR sets its own research agenda, and works with senior academics around the world to identify major new areas of scholarly research where Canada has major potential to lead. The organization assembles diverse groups of scholars in its programs, many of whom are established leaders in their fields, and others of who are rising academic stars. The organization invests only in the researchers themselves, not in buildings, equipment, or laboratory supplies.CIFAR supports advanced research by providing program members with such time-freeing benefits as teaching release, funding to hire graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and general research funding.
The hallmark of the CIFAR research model is the unusual spirit of "deep collaboration" that is encouraged at regular program meetings. These meetings exist to bring together researchers from different countries, institutions, disciplines and levels of experience, who might never otherwise meet.
History
CIFAR was founded by Dr. James Fraser Mustard. The first 25 years of its history is covered in the book A Generation of Excellence by Craig Brown.Since the Institute’s inception, 14 Nobel Laureates have been associated with CIFAR.
- Willard BoyleWillard BoyleWillard Sterling Boyle, was a Canadian physicist and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device. On October 6, 2009, it was announced that he would share the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for "the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit—the CCD sensor".-Life:Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, he...
- George A. Akerlof
- Sidney AltmanSidney AltmanSidney Altman is a Canadian American molecular biologist, who is currently the Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry at Yale University. In 1989 he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas R...
- Philip W. Anderson
- Kenneth ArrowKenneth ArrowKenneth Joseph Arrow is an American economist and joint winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with John Hicks in 1972. To date, he is the youngest person to have received this award, at 51....
- Walter GilbertWalter GilbertWalter Gilbert is an American physicist, biochemist, molecular biology pioneer, and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Gilbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1932...
- Leland H. HartwellLeland H. HartwellLeland Harrison Hartwell is former president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. He shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Paul Nurse and R...
- Daniel KahnemanDaniel KahnemanDaniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist and Nobel laureate. He is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonic psychology....
- Robert B. LaughlinRobert B. LaughlinRobert Betts Laughlin is a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. Along with Horst L. Störmer of Columbia University and Daniel C. Tsui of Princeton University, he was awarded a share of the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics for their explanation of the fractional quantum Hall...
- Anthony J. Leggett
- Roger B. Myerson
- John C. Polanyi
- Richard J. RobertsRichard J. RobertsSir Richard "Rich" John Roberts is a British biochemist and molecular biologist. He was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Phillip Allen Sharp for the discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA and the mechanism of gene-splicing.When he was 4, his family moved to Bath. In...
- Michael SmithMichael Smith (chemist)Michael Smith, CC, OBC, FRS was a British-born Canadian biochemist who won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.-Biography:...
See also
- Canadian government scientific research organizationsCanadian government scientific research organizationsExpenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006...
- Canadian university scientific research organizationsCanadian university scientific research organizationsExpenditures by Canadian universities on scientific research and development accounted for about 40% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2006....
- Canadian industrial research and development organizationsCanadian industrial research and development organizationsExpenditures by Canadian corporations on research and development accounted for about 50% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2007....