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Mining and Petroleum Industries Receive Funding for Research and Development

Jun. 9, 2011 (Canada NewsWire Group) --

HALIFAX, NL, June 9, 2011 /CNW/ - The Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) today announced more than $960,000 to enhance geoscience research and development (R&D) in the province with the launch of GeoEXPLORE.

The funding will support 13 projects involving a range of field and lab-based R&D activities specific to mineral and petroleum exploration and development opportunities throughout the province. Leading researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland will collaborate with Vale Inc., Silver Spruce Resources Inc., Search Minerals Inc., Rare Earth Metals Inc., Statoil Canada Ltd., Paragon Minerals, Rambler Metals and Mining Ltd., Aurora Energy, Altius Resources, Golden Dory Resources, the Geological Survey of Canada, the Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador, the University of Calgary, the National University of Ireland, and others.

"Leading-edge geoscience R&D plays a critical role in supporting mineral and petroleum exploration and development," said the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. "As Newfoundland and Labrador's mining industry continues to grow, research and development will assist in greater exploration and development.  These investments, through the Research & Development Corporation, mark a positive step in increasing the potential to develop new mines and invite new high value business and technology development opportunities for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."

Mining is the second largest industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, employing more than 4,900 people in rural areas of the province, while oil production represents almost 27.5 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador's nominal gross domestic product. The total value of minerals and petroleum production in 2010 was $12 billion.

GeoEXPLORE, a three-year program, will enhance geoscience R&D capacity, collaboration and innovation in the province's mineral and petroleum industries. The program targets five areas for R&D investment: research team awards; geoscience research tools and equipment; collaborative research opportunities; post-doctoral researchers; and industry-led R&D, technology development and demonstration.

"Recognizing the exploration and development potential of Newfoundland and Labrador's mining and petroleum industries, RDC will champion the program and work with industry, academia and government to identify collaborative R&D opportunities," said Glenn Janes, Chief Executive Officer, RDC.  "This directed research investment will enhance the development of highly-qualified personnel, enable our researchers to access innovative tools and equipment, as well as, further research partnerships among industry, academia and government.

Would a postdoc have helped? | Engineer Blogs

This week at Engineer Blogs, we are discussing the worst mistake we’ve ever made. However, that theme is somewhat difficult for me as I am a perfect human being who has always been right, or at least argued my point successfully until my opponent has been convinced I am right. Actually, I’m completely joking and I have make more than my fair share of mistakes. However, I’m going to refrain from discussing them for political reasons. Instead, I thought I would discuss something that I’ll never know if it was a mistake until it’s too late:   Skipping the postdoc stage of an academic career . First, some short background.

Unlike many academic engineers, I did my UG and MSc at the same university and then moved on for my PhD at a different university. It seems like the norm is to do UG at one place and then move on for your MSc and PhD at the same time. From most of the people I know that did this, they received the “coursework masters” which means they got their MSc degree after completing their required courses and passing the qualifier.

There are two distinct differences you’d learn about if you went through the same type of track I did. One, I was friends with mostly PhD students during my late UG and MSc so I knew immediately knew what was expected of me when I started my PhD. Two, I wrote a MSc thesis which gave me a distinct advantage when it came time to write my PhD thesis because I had at least written something similar (although my PhD thesis is waaaay longer and has more detail). More importantly, I had a reasonable estimate of what I had to do to prove myself tenure track worthy with my PhD work, rather than waiting for the postdoc. And, suffice to say, my estimate was correct because I did skip postdocing.

I was against postdocing for a few reasons (FYI, figure credit ). The main reason is that I didn’t think it was necessary to do 2-3 more years of research at yet lower pay to do what I had just done for 4 years. I published, got exposure at conferences, did research on multiple projects. The next main reason is perception. I read a lot of blogs and twitter feeds where it seems like postdocs are treated like sub-human lab rats who haven’t seen sunlight in months. Most postdocs say “well it’s the right of passage and it’s only for a few years”. But then there are other instances where you hear of postdocs who have been at it for 7-10 years. Either way, my perception is that it is a cheaper way for a university/company/institute to do research rather than paying me a real salary and giving me a real job. Plus, at a university, you’d be teaching and writing proposals; the same thing tenure tracks do so why bother.

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