Canada Research Chairs Program
The Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) stands at the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. The CRCP invests approximately $265 million per year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds. Chair-holders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve our depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen Canada’s international competitiveness, and help train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers’ work.
Information Box Group
NSERC Industrial Chairs
NSERC Industrial Research Chairs (IRCs)
An IRC provides funding for the salary of the Chair-holder, infrastructure, research tools and instruments, and general expenses related to the Chair’s program of research. IRCs are funded jointly by NSERC and industry. Provincial or federal government departments and agencies may also co-sponsor/support an IRC*

Saeid Habibi
NSERC/FORD Canada Industrial Research Chair in Hybrid/ Electric Vehicle (HEV) Powertrain Diagnostics

Thia (Kiruba) Kirubarajan
NSERC/General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada Industrial Research Chair in Target Tracking and Information Fusion

John Luxat
NSERC/UNENE Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis and Thermal Hydraulics

Joseph McDermid
NSERC/Stelco Inc. Industrial Research Chair in Advanced Coated Steels
IRCs share McMaster Engineering’s Expertise with Industry
NSERC Industrial Research Chairs are intended to:
- assist universities in building on existing strengths to achieve the critical mass required for a major research endeavor in natural sciences and engineering of interest to industry; and/or
- assist in the development of research efforts in fields that have not yet been developed in Canadian universities but for which there is an important industrial need; and
- provide an enhanced training environment for graduate students and, where appropriate, postdoctoral fellows by exposing them to research challenges unique to industry and the opportunity for significant ongoing interactions with the industrial partner(s).
Endowed Chairs
Endowed Chairs
Endowed chairs and professorships enable researchers of the highest caliber to pursue critically important areas of study and recruit and nurture the next generation of researchers. With the support of individual and corporate partners, the endowed chairs and professorships listed below serve to attract and retain internationally renowned researchers in a variety of disciplines, ensuring that McMaster’s students learn from the very best in the world.

Lotfi Belkhir (On Leave)
Class of 1962 Mechanical Engineering Chair in Eco-Entrepreneurship

Wael El-Dakhakhni
Martini, Mascarin and George Chair in Masonry Design

Christopher Swartz
ArcelorMittal Dofasco Chair in Process Automation and Information Technology

Michael Tait
Joe Ng/JNE Consulting Chair in Design, Construction, and Management of Infrastructure Renewal