NRC, NSERC and BDC team up for nanotech

Three key Canadian S&T players are teaming up to launch a new program for nanoscience and nanotechnology. The National Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) are each contributing $6 million over three years to fund large-scale, technology-driven projects that leverage nanotech expertise at the NRC and Canadian universities. The Business Development Bank of Canada will help assess the commercial potential of the proposals and "follow up with successful projects to help them move the technology towards commercialization". A maximum of $1 million per year is available for each project. The deadline for preliminary proposals is August 23, with full proposals due October 26. The new federal S&T strategy called for the three organizations to work together as part of its emphasis on encouraging new approaches to knowledge transfer. The NRC-NSERC-BDC initiative is a pilot and, if successful, could be expanded to other organizations....