FREDERICTON – University of New Brunswick’s dean of computer science Ali Ghorbani has been appointed as the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity.
This appointment is part of the latest cohort of the Canada Research Chairs Program, part of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. It was announced last week that over $173 million in funding will go towards supporting the 203 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at institutions across the country.
Tier 1 Research Chairs hold their renewable positions for seven years at a time. For each Tier 1 Chair, respective universities receive $200,000 in funding annually.
Ghorbani said that the appointment means that the federal government and the Canada Research Chairs have recognized UNB and his own contribution to the area of cybersecurity.
“That recognition is important,” Ghorbani said. “The chair itself will bring new opportunities, especially the funding would mean that we are now able to hire high more graduate students to push our research to the next level. Also, [it will ensure] that we continue and increase our activities with industry as we’ve done in the past in terms of building new cybersecurity solutions.”
“[With] this funding plus other funding that I’m sure will come as a result of this, … we will take our current activities to the next level and increase UNB’s standing in Canada and across the world as one of the leading places doing both research and training in the area of cybersecurity.”
Ghorbani’s research focuses on cybersecurity solutions and the development of techniques to detect and eliminate cyberthreats before they cause harm.
