Fire testing lab at York University among projects awarded Ontario research funding

From York University News

York University researchers will receive more than $700,000 in provincial funding for research projects and equipment through the Early Researcher Award program and the Ontario Research Fund (ORF).

The Hon. Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, announced nearly $41 million in research funding for research institutions across Ontario today, in the High Bay Structure Lab at York’s Lassonde School of Engineering.

Civil Engineering Professor John Gales demonstrated how his lab assesses the resiliency of building materials, in order to develop construction materials that are fire safe, innovative and sustainable.

Gales’ fire testing lab will receive $118,135 in Ontario Research Fund (ORF) grants, which match funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund. The grant will allow the fire testing lab at Lassonde, one of the few in Canada, to scale up the technology to test load and heat on larger building frames to make buildings safer and more cost-efficient.

“York University’s research excellence is rooted in creating positive impacts in the lives of individuals and communities,” said Rhonda Lenton, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. “Professor Gales’ lab examines how materials can help make buildings and homes – and the people and families who live and work in them – safer from the risk of fire, and we are grateful to the Government of Ontario for supporting this important research.”