Mac’s surprise new investment

A $43 million joint investment for McMaster University towards science and engineering teaching and research capacity was announced on Friday, Sept. 23.

The project totals at $75 million, with the university contributing $24.3 million and the Independent Electricity System Operator contributing $7.6 million.

The hefty investment from the federal and provincial governments was done in part with the Government of Canada’s Innovation Agenda, which sets out to create more jobs, drive growth across all industries and improve the lives of all Canadians.

The press conference was well attended, including speeches from Filomena Tassi, Member of Parliament for Hamilton West-Ancanster-Dundas and by the Hon. Eleanor McMahon.

“Our post-secondary education sector and the applied research that it produces will drive innovation today and the economy of tomorrow. McMaster has a world-class engineering and science faculty and students will now have state-of-the-art facilities in which to work and learn,” said Tassi in a press release.

In terms of raw numbers, $37.5 million will be from the federal government while the provincial government is set to contribute the remaining $5.5 million.

The substantial funding from the federal government is being allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will place emphasis on both modernizing research along with environmental sustainability.

The funding will be used to support various projects such as the Arthur Bourns Building repair, Retrofit, Addition, Campus COGEN project. The long-term goal with a facilities upgrade consists of improving science and engineering research, accelerating commercialization and enhancing energy conservation at McMaster.

The $7.6 million secured from the Independent Electricity System Operator will be used to increase efficiency of the renovated ABB labs as well as across campus.

Alongside this, plans for the Combined Heat and Power co-generation plant have been underway. Also labelled as the COGEN project, the creation of the plant is expected to save 15 percent on energy input as compared to traditional plants, thereby providing a substantial energy cost avoidance while contributing to the environment.

In terms of environmental sustainability, MSU president Justin Monaco-Barnes is proud of the progress made in ensuring that sufficient funding is used to accelerate energy saving efforts. “This expansion will not only give us a wide variety of tools to enhance [research and innovation], but it is done in a way that is environmentally friendly for everyone,” he said.

“One of the great things about this expansion, and sustainability initiatives in general, is that it affects all students in a positive way long after they are graduated,” explained Monaco-Barnes.