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Established in 1999, iCORE is a Circle of Research Excellence funded by the Province of Alberta. It focuses on promoting ICT through research funding in strategic niche areas. iCORE offers various grant programs, scholarships, and initiatives to attract top talents and support research teams. With a substantial budget, research clusters, and strategic partnerships, iCORE aims to elevate Alberta's ICT landscape and make a global impact in informatics.
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iCORE Overview Informatics Circle of Research Excellence Created in 1999, funded by Province of Alberta Mandate: increase profile of ICT in Alberta “Lightning rod” model for research funding in strategic niche areas of ICT (bold and nimble) Strategy and recruiting guided by a team of outstanding international scientists 3 grant programs investing in scientists working on fundamental and applied problems in informatics Scholarship programs for recruiting best students iCORE Summit held annually (August) in Banff
iCORE Programs CPE (Chair and Professorship Establishment) Attract world-class researchers and support research teams Up to $1M/year for 5 years (renewable) ICE (Industry Chair Establishment) Industry partnership program Minimum $100k/year industry Potential matching from iCORE and NSERC Leverage of 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 Visiting Professor & Recruitment Grants $5k-$100k grants for recruitment activities and capacity building ICT Graduate Student Scholarships Co-managed with Alberta Ingenuity Fund
iCORE Financial Overview • iCORE’s current base budget is $10.7M per year Fiscal Year Budget • With AET & Alberta Ingenuity, iCORE, a $6M graduate student scholarship program • $3M for ICT • $3M for Nanotechnology
iCORE Research Clusters 29 research chairs Established Areas: Networks and Wireless Intelligent Software Systems New Architectures (e.g., Nanotechnology, Quantum Computing) Emerging Areas: Cyberinfrastructure Systems Biology/Life Sciences Sensor Networks/Integrated Resource Management (IRM)
iCORE Chair Portfolio • iCORE’s business plan is to achieve and sustain critical mass in both research and industry chairs • Currently 17 CPEs • 11 Chairs • 6 Professors • iCORE’s industrial impact by industry chair program • Currently 12 active Industry Chairs • Sun Microsystems • Syncrude/Matrikon • Suncor/Matrikon • Silicon Graphics • Hewlett-Packard • Alberta Power Consortium • SMART Technologies • Calgary Scientific Inc. • TELUS • General Dynamics Canada • IBM • Micralyne
Research Highlights Dr. Barry Sanders University of Calgary
Research Highlights Dr. Michael Brett University of Alberta Nano-scale devices GLancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) Thin films
iCORE’s ROI • First class research academy • Quality people (iCORE chairs have 90% NSERC success rate, cf. Canadian average of 52%) • 32 chairs have been established with enormous generation of HQP • Current surveys show ~56% HQP remains in province • Increase in quality and external assessment • e.g., Robert Wolkow “Nobel-level achievements…” • e.g., Gane Wong “novel and bold scientific goals…” • Investment leverage • Current commitment of ~$93M to 2014 • Leverage of more than 3-to-1 on iCORE investment
Summary • iCORE currently has 29 research chairs • Current investment of about $93M to 2014, leveraged more than 3-to-1 • Currently involves over 1000 research personnel (faculty, technical, graduate students) • Broadening informatics base, with increasing emphasis on cyberinfrastructure, sensor networks/integrated resource management, systems/life sciences • High impact in Alberta, in Canada, and globally