2014 NSERC Awards

Zhihui Yi of the École Polytechnique de Montréal, received the NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research. Ms. Yi is combining chemistry, physics, engineering and biology to study the emerging field of organic bioelectronics. Her research into the coupling of electronics with living tissue is creating advances for point-of-care diagnostics, drug delivery and reducing the risk of implant rejection.

Sylvain Moineau of Université Laval received one of the Synergy Awards for Innovation. The partnership between Mr. Moineau and Agropur coopérative has produced bacterial strains that have improved control over the fermentation process for cheddar cheese, increasing productivity, improving overall yields and lowering production costs while preserving the quality of the final product.

Milica Radisic of the University of Toronto received one of the E.W.R. Steacie memorial Fellowships. Her research uses stems cells for creating samples of both healthy and diseased human heart tissue to use as a model for drug testing and discovery. Her research could result in completely new treatments for damaged or failing hearts, with a long-term goal of seeing stem cells become the preferred material for replacement heart tissue.

Marinus T. J. van Loenhout (center) of the University of British Columbia received the NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize (left). Mr. van Loenhout is investigating how certain cells spread cancer and whether they can be prevented from propagating. This research will be invaluable for creating methods to control stem cells, as well as for developing new tools to diagnose and treat cancer.

Jean-Philippe MacLean of the University of Waterloo, is one of the recipients of the NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prizes. Mr. MacLean studies the quantum phenomenon known as entanglement, which can be used to harness the power of photons for cryptography, power storage and increasing the precision of three-dimensional medical imaging.

The top research prize, the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, was awarded to Dr. Ford Doolittle from Dalhousie University for his work on the evolution of genes and genomes. Dr. Doolittle is studying, at the gene level, how living organisms survive in their environments and adapt to them.

His Excellency presented a series of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Awards during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. Eight prestigious prizes were awarded to 36 recipients, including individuals and research teams.

Makoto C. Fujiwara accepted the NSERC John C. Polanyi Award on behalf of ALPHA-Canada Team. In 2010 and 2011, Canadian researchers on the ALPHA research team at the CERN Laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, played key roles in demonstrating that it was possible to capture antimatter atoms in a magnetic bottle. In 2012, the multidisciplinary ALPHA team developed methods that led to the first measurement of the properties of atomic antimatter. Their research is helping to answer fundamental questions about how the universe was formed after the Big Bang.

The Honourable James Edwards, Vice-President and Chair of Council, spoke on behalf of The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State (Science and Technology, and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario).

"For all your remarkable variety, you share a deep appreciation of the importance of learning together, and the way in which useful discoveries and innovations can occur as a result of such collaboration," said His Excellency. "Your progress is important not only for its own sake, but also because learning and innovation take place on a continuum—one in which your findings have taken and will continue to take their place."

Jules Blais and John P. Smol (absent) received the Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering. The research collaboration between Mr. Blais and Mr. Smol has highlighted the importance of taking a multidisciplinary approach to complex environmental interactions. Blais’s toxicological work helps define past environmental stressors, whilst Smol’s ecological work characterizes the ecosystem responses to these stressors. Their work is helping to solve the many environmental and conservation issues affecting our planet’s ecosystems, from climate change and air pollution to agricultural practices and protection of fish habitats.