Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as well as Canadian companies to perform research and training. With funding from the Government of Canada, NSERC supports the research of over 41,000 students, trainees and professors at universities and colleges in Canada with an annual budget of CA$1.1 billion in 2015. Its current director is Alejandro Adem.

NSERC, combined with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), forms the major source of federal government funding to post-secondary research. These bodies are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Tri-Council" or "Tri-Agency".

History
NSERC came into existence on 1 May 1978 under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Act, which was passed in an omnibus manner by the government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. University-based research had previously been supported through the National Research Council of Canada. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. It is governed by a Council composed of its president and up to 18 members appointed from the private and public sectors and an executive team of eight persons.

President
Past presidents include Gordon M. MacNabb (1978-1986), Arthur W. May (1986-1990), Peter Morand (1990-1995), Tom Brzustowski (1995-2005), Suzanne Fortier (2006-2013), and B. Mario Pinto (2014-2018). On 25 June 2019, Alejandro Adem was appointed President of NSERC, effective October 1, 2019.

Professors
NSERC offers research funding for programs and projects covering every discipline of the sciences and engineering. In 1989, NSERC started a Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) program, with Dr. Monique Frize selected as the first Chair. In 1996, the program was restructured to support one Chair in each of the following five regions: Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies, and British Columbia/Yukon and in 2006 a CWSE National Network was created, which facilitates collaborations among the sitting Chairs. The NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the B.C./Yukon region operates under the name Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WWEST). Past CWSE Chairs include Dr. Elizabeth Cannon (1997), Dr. Claire Deschênes (1997), Dr. Monique Frize (1997), Dr. Maria Klawe (1997), Dr. Florence-Mary Williams (1997), Dr. Anne Condon (2002), Dr. Valerie Davidson (2002), Dr. Cecilia Moloney (2002), Dr. Julita Vassileva (2004), Dr. Nadia Ghazzali (2006), Dr. Elizabeth Croft (2010), Dr. Annemieke Farenhorst (2011), Dr. Catherine Mavriplis (2011), and Dr. Lesley Shannon (2015). As of 2023, the current regional CWSE Chairs are Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal (Atlantic), Dr. Eve Langelier (Quebec), Dr. Shohini Ghose (Ontario), Dr. Laleh Behjat (Prairies), and Dr. Jennifer Jakobi (B.C./Yukon).

NSERC's newest program, launched in 2023, is Chair for Inclusion in Science and Engineering (CISE). Beginning in Atlantic Canada, the current A-CISE co-chairs are Dr. Svetlana Barkanova, a physicist with Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie, Professor of Organic Chemistry Cape Breton University, and physicist Dr. Kevin Hewitt of Dalhousie University. These Atlantic Chairs "aim to reach a broad range of underrepresented groups, including women and gender minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized groups and members of LGBTQ communities, with a particular focus on First Nations and French communities, African Nova Scotians and remote and rural areas."

Students and fellows
NSERC provides awards, scholarships, and fellowships to graduate and undergraduate students for scientific research.

Partnership programs
NSERC has Research Partnerships Programs to help foster collaborations between university researchers, colleges and other sectors (including government and industry) to develop new knowledge and expertise, transfer it to Canadian-based organizations and meet the objectives of the Government of Canada’s Science & Technology Strategy on innovation.

In February 2021, The Globe and Mail reported that NSERC partnered with Huawei in which the company contributed over CAN $4.8 million in funding for research.

NSERC is also a sponsor of Women in Science and Engineering Atlantic Region (WISEatlantic) "primarily engaged in inspiring youth to consider science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers and making them aware of the diversity that exists within these fields" and Women in Science and Engineering Newfoundland and Labrador (WISE NL).