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Core Research Platforms Facts & Figures (2024-2025)

Impact at a Glance

Across the McMaster campus — from state-of-the-art national research facilities to suites of equipment housed within centres and institutes to department-based laboratories — our core research platforms (CRPs) provide our researchers with the cutting-edge methods and tools required to impact their fields of research. They also enable our private sector, government and community partners to access some of the country’s top talent.

35

TOTAL NUMBER OF CRPs

$26.2M

TOTAL REVENUE

6,041

TOTAL USERS

157

TOTAL STAFF (FTE)

61

TOTAL STAFF WITH ADVANCED DEGREES

$22.3M

INVESTED IN CAPITAL AND OPERATIONS

16

CRPs SUPPORT UNDERGRADUATE LABS

2,701

TOTAL STUDENTS AND STAFF TRAINED

14,135

STAFF HOURS DEDICATED TO TRAINING

CRPs by Faculty

Impact Stories

Partnering with industry to develop point-of-care diagnostics Biointerfaces Institute website

The Biointerfaces Institute supports and optimizes research initiatives towards the development, understanding and advancement of material and biological interfaces.

In 2024-25, a co-director of the Institute was awarded an NSERC Alliance grant totaling over $2.7M to lead a project in point-of-care diagnostics with industry partner Methapharm Specialty Pharmaceuticals. The project focuses on the development, validation and scaled-up manufacturing of point of care tests for rapid diagnosis of respiratory ailments, including asthma, COPD and respiratory infections. Eight new HQP were onboarded to provide support for the project, supervised by four members of the Institute.

Strengthening democracy in a digital society LIVELab website

The LIVELab is a unique 106-seat Research Performance Hall designed to investigate the experience of music, dance, multimedia presentations and human interaction.

In collaboration with McMaster’s Digital Society Lab, LIVELab conducted a study of how undecided young voters responded to the 2025 federal leaders’ debate. Billed as a “Canadian Science Firsts” project, this initiative leveraged the LIVELab’s unique infrastructure to deepen our neuroscientific understanding of voter responses, with the goal of providing insights into how we can strengthen democracy in the digital age. The project is expected to provide new understanding of what influences voter decisions, based on analyses of voters’ conscious and physiological responses. The initiative garnered national and international media coverage and brought together interdisciplinary researchers, HQP and trainees with backgrounds in science and political science.

Tackling disinformation with the power of machine learning Digital Society Lab website

The Digital Society Lab is spearheading research on the complex societal transformations that accompany our digital world – from digital currencies to online political advertising, AI and the spread of disinformation.

Over the past year, the Lab has advanced the development of a digital tool that leverages high-performance computing, algorithms and machine learning technologies for the automated detection of mis- and disinformation. The tool will provide a flexible approach in which mis- and disinformation can be rapidly identified regardless of topic. The project is expected to generate valuable IP and has attracted interest from prospective government and private-sector partners. The Lab is currently pursuing funding opportunities to support future phases of the project and members have engaged in outreach initiatives, including conference presentations and educational webinars, to share their work and foster new connections between the Lab, academia, industry and members of the public.

Advancing arts-informed research to promote public art in Hamilton CRP website

A partnership between the Faculty of Social Sciences and five community organizations, the Community Research Platform (CRP) is dedicated to building shared infrastructure to foster collaborative research that advances societal health and well-being.

In 2024-25, CRP collaborated with the City of Hamilton to support their public art consultation process. The CRP’s postdoctoral fellow worked with city staff and a team of artists from the BluHeron Collective to undertake an arts-informed research project to better understand Hamiltonians’ views and desires related to public art in the city. The fellow provided ongoing support and guidance around partnership agreements, data collection, analysis, management and knowledge mobilization.

Manufacturing advanced technologies to improve the environment MMRI website

The McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI) is a state-of-the-art applied research and innovation centre that finds solutions to challenges faced by the manufacturing industry.

In 2024-25, MMRI partnered with Wessuc Inc. – a leader in wastewater remediation strategies – to help them produce a difficult-to-source plumbing fitting which uses the Venturi effect to introduce air into a sewage pond. MMRI successfully developed and field-tested a novel Venturi insert that significantly improved aeration performance in wastewater treatment. It also lowered costs. By replacing complex, expensive components with a simple, locally manufactured solution, the Institute extended the lifespan of aging infrastructure and supported clean-growth outcomes, reducing equipment waste and import emissions. The project resulted in new IP licensed for local production, ensuring supply chain resilience. 

Bringing research to communities to support healthy aging MDTCR website

The McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre (MDTRC) leads cutting-edge multidisciplinary research aimed at better understanding the implications of digital transformation in a wide range of contexts.

Launched in 2023, MDTRC’s Mobile User Experience Lab (MUXL) is designed to remove accessibility barriers and allow researchers to travel directly to local communities. Supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, MUXL facilitated aging-related research in collaboration with the Hamilton Public Library (HPL) and City Housing Hamilton (CHH) in 2024-25. The project used the MUXL van to deliver instruction and technology support to vulnerable seniors living in social housing. HPL contributed by providing curated, accessible digital literacy training materials and a specialized library collection tailored to older adult learners. Seniors living in CHH actively participated in and benefited from this Action Research initiative.

Using language science research to improve closed-captioning for children ARiEAL website

The Centre for Advanced Research in Experimental and Applied Linguistics (ARiEAL) advances problem-driven language science research in fundamental, experimental and applied linguistics.

In 2025, ARiEAL completed an external contract with CBC Kids in partnership with CanChild. The project involved evaluating various closed-captioning options in children’s programming, such as the placement, font and colour of captions and assessing how children respond to them. Which formats do they prefer? Are the captions easy to follow? Do they help children retain important information? ARiEAL provided the necessary equipment, including eye-tracking technology, and expertise, including support from an undergraduate research assistant, to enable CBC Kids and CanChild to conduct their experiments and collect meaningful data to inform their decisions.

Pushing the limits in advanced electron microscopy CCEM website

The Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM) houses best-in-class electron and ion microscopes and a team of expert staff who help users solve tomorrow’s materials problems.

CCEM provides an integrated pathway for materials research, from bulk imaging to atomic-scale analysis. By combining techniques like XCT, FIB, TEM, and APT, this multi-modal workflow enables high-precision insight into structural and compositional features across length scales. Its full capabilities were demonstrated through a successful multi-scale analysis of the Tarda meteorite, completed in collaboration with the Royal Ontario Museum. This milestone project confirms the workflow’s power for breakthrough discovery in geoscience, in addition to semiconductors, energy materials and more, reinforcing CCEM’s role as a global leader in advanced electron microscopy.

Developing solutions for a net-zero masonry industry

The Applied Dynamics Lab (ADL) provides support to engineering research and undergrad curriculum, primarily in the department of civil engineering with a focus on the seismic resilience of structures and materials research.

In collaboration with the clay brick and concrete block Canadian masonry industry, the ADL research group secured the largest NSERC Alliance Advantage grant with the masonry industry – approximately $1.7M – to date. The project aims to propel the development of low-carbon manufacturing and construction solutions towards a net-zero masonry construction industry by 2050. The Lab’s work is expected to result in the first-ever objective Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for any construction product in Canada, drawing the roadmap for the entire Canadian construction industry (7.5% of Canada’s GDP) to follow.