Media Release

For Immediate Release

December 19, 2008

Saint Mary’s Chemistry professor awarded $141,321 for research

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced Dec. 12 that it has awarded $141,321 to Saint Mary’s University to support a $300,000 research project led by Dr. Jason Masuda, an assistant professor in the University’s Chemistry Department.

Dr. Masuda’s project is aimed at developing new reactive forms of phosphorus for use in synthetic applications, such as the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.

The technical name of the project is Preparation and derivatization of group 15-based small molecules using transition metal complexes. Simply put, the research involves studying the chemistry of a variety of metal-containing compounds to determine how they can be used as catalysts with elemental phosphorus, to produce industrially relevant phosphorus-containing compounds.

Phosphorus-containing compounds are important in many industrial processes, but the production of these chemicals can be require significant amounts of energy and involve complicated processes using chemicals such as chlorine, bromine or sodium. If catalytic methods could be used to create the compounds, the production process would be simpler and less hazardous.

“The goal of my research is to find ways to the produce phosphorus-containing chemicals by using catalytic processes that are more cost effective and more environmentally friendly,” said Dr. Masuda, who joined the Saint Mary’s University Science Faculty in January 2008.

Alongside the research of Dr. Jason Clyburne and Dr. Robert Singer, Dr. Masuda’s research fits the commitment of Saint Mary’s University’s Chemistry Department and Faculty of Science to developing methods to make chemical processes more ‘green.’ Dr. Masuda’s research group currently consists of three undergraduate students, partially funded by the Student Employment Experience Program (SEEP) at Saint Mary’s.    

The CFI announced a total of $45.4 million in new funds to support 251 projects at 44 institutions across Canada. As part of the CFI’s Leaders Opportunity Fund program, the funding is designed to provide infrastructure to Canadian institutions so they can attract researchers at a time of intense international competition for knowledge workers. The $141,000 for Dr. Masuda’s project represents 40 per cent of the funding required. The balance of the funding is expected to be provided by the University, various corporate partners and the Nova Scotia provincial government.

“We can say with conviction that Canada has become a place where world-class researchers want to be," said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO of the CFI. “This CFI investment will further develop Saint Mary’s global reputation as a place where outstanding research and training is being conducted.”

A complete list of the projects awarded, by institution, can be found at: www.innovation.ca.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians. Since its creation in 1997, the CFI has committed 4.4 billion in support of 5,800 projects at 129 institutions in 64 municipalities across Canada.

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For more information:

Blake Patterson
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: blake.patterson@smu.ca
www.smu.ca