Levelling the research field

Anyone with a computer knows how expensive software and other resources can be to acquire and maintain. The same goes for graduate students and faculty doing research at universities and colleges across the country; the software and equipment they need are often costly and not easily accessible.

CMC Microsystems, based in Kingston, Ont., was created by the Canadian government in 1984 to provide these kinds of infrastructure and services to around 340 academics at 37 universities across Canada who are working on state-of-the-art projects in microelectronics, micromechanical engineering and other related fields. The organization gives students and researchers access to expertise, equipment, and materials that are usually reserved for private corporations and their staff. As a result, research is more relevant to the current commercial needs of industry, and the participating individuals are more attractive to industrial partners as prospective employees or collaborators.

CMC Microsystems also serves as the managing body for three major CFI-funded projects led by Queen’s University: Embedded Systems Canada (emSYSCAN), System-on-Chip Research Network (SOCRN) and the National Microelectronics and Photonics Testing Collaboratory (NMPTC). By taking on the projects’ administration, CMC allows academics to focus on their core research activities. The corporation receives a fee for its work — about a third of the direct and indirect costs that would be incurred by institutions if project participants took on the management themselves.

Working through CMC participants can also access additional research tools. The corporation offers more than 40 powerful software suites, for example, that it has reviewed, tested and licensed, saving researchers time and money.