Laurentian University tops in research funding among undergraduate universities

Invention and innovation shape our lives and it's happening closer to home than we may think.

At Laurentian University in Sudbury, meaningful work is being fuelled by a high level of research funding.

A publication called Research Infosource says Laurentian is the top undergraduate university in Canada in earning total research income.

Rui Wang is the Vice President of Research at Laurentian.

He says the research coming out of Laurentian is a big deal.

​" In specific areas we lead the world, he says. "For example, the famous Metal Earth program with total funding of a hundred million dollars toward mineral exploration. Whatever we do at Laurentian, the whole world pays attention to it."

Laurentian is home to a number of research centres

As for other research at Laurentian that contributes to our lives, Wang cites the Indigenous Research Centre and it's work on Indigenous health, the Living with Lakes Centre and its focus on environmental monitoring, and the Centre for Occupational Health and Safety advances towards safer work sites.

Wang is modest about his own research in the biomedical field.

"​I'm studying the famous molecule, hydrogen sulfide, which made the stinky smell of a farting gas. My study is very interesting but compared to [everything at] Laurentian university, it is only a small, small portion of it.."

Laurentian is ranked thirty out of fifty research universities in Canada overall.

Monday marks the first day of Research Week.at Laurentian which celebrates the contributions of students, staff and faculty.