Dr. Duncan came to Niagara College in 2001 to found the Centre for Advanced Visualization (CFAV); a research group dedicated to exploring the use of virtual reality (VR) for urban and land use visualization. CFAV worked with international firms like Parsons Engineering, Delcan Engineering, and Morrison Hershfield as well as local governments and cities.

In 2006 CFAV Inc. was incorporated to commercialize the skills and know-how in the CFAV research group. Dr. Duncan then founded the Augmented Reality Research Centre (ARRC) to continue research into VR and to expand its use into other areas such as precision agriculture.

In 2002 Dr. Duncan received one of the first large grants ever awarded to colleges. The Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) invested over a third of a million dollars in CFAV for research into the use of virtual reality in urban and land use visualization.

In 2004 Dr. Duncan received of one of six NSERC Community College Innovation Pilot Program grants awarded across Canada to study realism in VR. An Ontario Centre of Excellence (OCE) grant in 2007 established ARRC and Niagara College firmly in the area of agriculture remote sensing and visualization with the PrAgMatic project. PrAgMatic currently encompasses a host of technologies including GIS/GPS, databases, 2D and 3D visualization, digital soil mapping (DSM), image classification, sensor networks, LIDAR, and other remote sensing technologies.

In 2009 Niagara College received one of the first Community College Innovation (CCI) grants of $2.3 million for the development of the Land Use Technology centre to focus on the initiative and momentum set up by the PrAgMatic project. This work has attracted the attention of IBM and their Smarter Planet initiative, as well as international interest from Argentina.

Dr. Duncan is currently funded by OMAFRA, OCE, CCI/NSERC and CONII, and is working with researchers from Queens University, Brock University, McGill University and University of Windsor. Dr. Duncan continues to focus on the commercialization and transfer of skills and know-how with companies like IBM, City of St. Catharines, Convergent Wireless, and a host of others.