Artificial intelligence in the form of computers with quasi-human capabilities, as well as the demise of disabling and lethal brain diseases are two areas of research at Montreal universities poised for major breakthroughs after receiving a historic investment of more than $200 million from the federal government.

There were no back-to-school blues Tuesday at Montreal’s leading research institutions — Université de Montréal, McGill University, Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal — which started the academic year by announcing a windfall of $213 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund for three innovative and far-reaching projects.

It’s an unprecedented amount of research funding, which will be dispensed over seven years and aims to turn expertise related to artificial intelligence, brain health and medical technologies into world-leading research.

U de M rector Guy Breton called the funding a “game changer,” while Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre applauded the city’s venerable “grey matter” and was all smiles at the press conference Tuesday, where a veritable who’s who of Montreal academia gathered as Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of international development and la francophonie, made the official announcement.

Read the full story at montrealgazette.com.