Welcome to the Office of the Vice-President, Research

Brock is committed to enhancing research excellence, and we are making our mark.

In the last year alone, Brock researchers have increased the University’s reputation with a Killam award to Elizabeth Sauer to continue her important work on the poet John Milton; the Alfred Bader award to Tomas Hudlicky for his brilliant work in synthetic organic chemistry; and the prestigious Vanier Scholarship to Ellen Robb to continue her studies towards a Ph.D in our Department of Biological Sciences. Small wonder Brock is proud of its research and scholarship.

We are in the midst of huge growth at Brock, with several major construction projects underway or in development. They will result in even greater opportunities for research and scholarship in all of Brock’s faculties.

This office seeks continually to support Brock’s researchers and scholars across all disciplines, helping them explore opportunities. We are working with the University community to develop a Strategic Research Plan — a plan that, together with the Strategic Plan for Brock University, will provide a framework to develop research priorities and marketing opportunities, encouraging research that contributes locally, nationally and internationally.

Our research and scholarly activities cover a broad scope and include interdisciplinary approaches, for example:

• Investigators in our Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute are researching oenology, viticulture and consumer preferences;
• Researchers in our Lifespan Development Centre are engaged with neuroscience, brain injury and Alzheimer’s research;
• Researchers in our Departments of Biological Sciences and Physical Education and Kinesiology are studying the effects of hibernation, body heat control and protective clothing for extreme climates; and
• Researchers in Digital Humanities are investigating the use of computing in the development of serious gaming.

We encourage you to take a look at our website and explore the opportunities for research at Brock University. If you have any questions, please contact us by email at vpr@brocku.ca [1] or call 905-688-5550 x4315.
 

Gary Libben is a scholar and academic administrator who is a leader in advancing interdisciplinary research. Before coming to Brock, he served as Associate Vice-President (Research) at the University of Calgary.A psycholinguist who studies how words are represented and processed in the mind, Libben was named in 2008 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is a former President of the Canadian Linguistics Association, co-founder of The Mental Lexicon Journal, and was a founding director of the University of Alberta’s Centre for Comparative Psycholinguistics. He has also been director of Words in the Mind, Words in the Brain, a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Libben’s international experience includes visiting professorships in Austria and the Netherlands. [2]