A Western researcher now finds himself at the forefront of a multi-university effort to develop a nationwide flood forecasting system to save lives and property across the country. Currently, no such flood warning system exists in Canada.
Announced last month, McMaster University will receive $5 million over five years to support FloodNet. This investment is the result of the most recent competition in the Strategic Network Grants program, administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Led by FloodNet researcher Paulin Coulibaly, McMaster researchers will work with Western Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Andrew Binns, as well as university colleagues from Guelph, Laval, Manitoba, Moncton, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Trent and Waterloo, to fill this important gap by developing flood forecasting systems.
“Strategic Network Grants foster the kind of collaboration that allows students, established researchers, businesses and others to work hand-in-hand on the discoveries and innovations that will have impact in a reduced time frame,” said B. Mario Pinto, NSERC president. “The transformative breakthroughs that result from this kind of collaboration help to tackle complex research questions and accelerate solutions to some of society’s toughest challenges.”
