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Two dozen University of New Brunswick researchers have recently been awarded $5.34 million in funding from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). They are among the thousands of scholars across the country collectively awarded $630 million in funding under NSERC’s Discovery Grant, Research Tools and Instrumentation, and other programs that was announced by the Government of Canada on July 7, 2026.

Twenty-four researchers were awarded Discovery Grants, which provide an annual award for up to five years. Among these, 10 also received a Discovery Launch Supplement, which consists of an additional $12,500 in funding.

“Congratulations to all two dozen researchers on their NSERC successes,” said Dr. David MaGee, vice president research at UNB. “This funding will help them move their research programs forward, supporting the creation of new knowledge in a wide range of areas with relevance to our lives and our communities—from how we interact with computers and how computers interact with us and the world; to new materials, manufacturing techniques, and energy systems; to natural resource management and conservation, and much more.”

• Dr. Clodualdo Aranas, associate professor of mechanical engineering, awarded $47,000 per year for research on “Designing Electrical Steels with Optimized Magnetic and Mechanical Properties”;
• Dr. Scott Bateman, associate professor of computer science, director of UNB’s SPECTRAL Spatial Computing Research Centre and research director of the Data Science and AI Research Institute, awarded $42,000 per year for research on “Developing Calm, Focused Human-Computer Interactions for Sustainable Productivity”;
• Dr. Kush Bubbar, assistant professor of engineering, awarded $38,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Terrain-Aware Holistic Control of Over-Actuated Semi-Autonomous Off-Road Vehicles”;”
• Dr. Hong Chen, assistant professor electrical and computer engineering, awarded $42,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Edge AI-empowered Semantic Communication Networks for Intelligent IoT Systems”;”
• Dr. Jie Chen, research scientist and adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering, awarded $43,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Integrated Sensing and Communication Enhanced by Generative Artificial Intelligence for Next-Generation Wireless Systems”;
• Dr. Sajjad Dadkhah, assistant professor of computer science and Mastercard IoT Research Chair, awarded $42,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Advanced Agentic AI Techniques for Behavioural Threat Detection in Next-Generation Cyber Defence”;
• Dr. Gavin Douglas, assistant professor of biology, awarded $42,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Distinguishing the neutral and selective forces underlying bacterial pangenome evolution”;
• Dr. Kevin Englehart, professor of electrical and computer engineering, awarded $47,000 per year for research on “Improving Myoelectric Control as a Human-Machine Interface”;
• Dr. Christopher Gray, professor of biological sciences, awarded $40,000 per year for research on “Uncovering the hidden chemistry of cryptic fungi: natural product discovery through activation of silent gene clusters in endophytes”;
• Dr. Tommi Linnansaari, professor of forestry and environmental management, awarded $54,000 per year for research on “Investigation of anthropogenic factors affecting diadromous fish species in Atlantic Canada”;
• Dr. Yukun Lu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, awarded $43,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Toward Smart Forestry: Human-Led Platooning with Autonomous Trailers”;
• Dr. Heather Major, professor of biological sciences, awarded $48,000 per year for research on “Seabird ecology in the North Atlantic”;
• Dr. Igor Mastikhin, professor of physics, awarded $40,000 per year for research on “Development of Portable NMR for Measurements of Complex Systems”;
• Dr. Nicholas Touikan, associate professor of mathematics and statistics, awarded $37,000 per year for research on “Structure, geometry, and computation in groups”;
• Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi, professor of mechanical engineering and Canada Research Chair in Marine Additive Manufacturing, awarded $52,000 per year for research on “Intelligent Microstructure Sensitive Design and Additive Manufacturing Process Control: A Platform to Develop Digital Twins for Marine Strategic Alloys”;
• Dr. Lillian Olule, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, awarded $38,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Adaptive RF and Kinetic Energy Harvesting towards Batteryless Wearables”;
• Dr. Francis Palma, assistant professor of computer science, awarded $36,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Assessing and Improving Microservices-based Systems through the Automated Detection and Correction of Design Antipatterns”;
• Dr. Deepa Pureswaran, research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada) and visiting research professor in biology, awarded $44,000 per year for research on “Global change and forest insect outbreaks”;
• Dr. Yang Qu, associate professor of chemistry, awarded $54,000 per year for research on “Decoding and Rebuilding Monoterpenoid Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis”;
• Dr. Kyle Rogers, assistant professor of chemical engineering, awarded $42,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Upgrading Biofuels Using Sustainably Sourced Hydrogen”;
• Dr. Jon Sensinger, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of UNB’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, awarded $47,000 per year for research on “Using curiosity-driven optimal control in uncertain multi-agent interactions”;
• Dr. Lin Wang, professor of mathematics and statistics, awarded $37,000 per year for research on “Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Nonlinear Systems: Mathematical Modeling and Applications in Biology”;
• Dr. Matthew Yao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, awarded $42,000 per year plus a Discovery Launch Supplement for research on “Development of Computational Models for Simulation of Low-Emissions Gas Turbines”; and
• Dr. Yun Zhang, professor of geodesy and geomatics engineering, awarded $38,000 per year for research on “Ultra-Hi: Next-Generation Hyperspectral Imaging Technologies for Ultra-High Resolution, Sensitivity, and Compression.”

The bundle also included support for specialized equipment through NSERC’s Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) program.

Dr. Veronica Whitford, associate professor of psychology and Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingual Reading Across the Lifespan, was awarded $40,306 for research on “From Lab to Community: Stationary and Mobile Eye-Tracking Systems for Language Research Across the Lifespan.”