Prized Research

Canada's best and brightest

June 9, 2009 – The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) recently honoured 14 of this country’s best and brightest young researchers with several prestigious prizes.

“It is exciting to recognize the budding talent of researchers who are just starting out on what will undoubtedly be brilliant, rewarding careers,” Isabelle Blain, NSERC’s Vice-President of Research Grants and Scholarships, said at the awards ceremony in Ottawa.

The winners hail from across Canada and are at the top of their respective fields, which range from electrical engineering to computer science to zoology. The prizes highlight their academic and research excellence, but also recognize their interpersonal and communication skills and their leadership abilities.

NSERC believes that if Canada is to be an international force in science and engineering, it must encourage the most promising individuals from the new generation of researchers. Since its inception in 1978, NSERC has been committed to supporting research excellence. This year, it is investing over $1 billion in students, postdoctoral fellows, professors and research networks in all areas of the natural sciences and engineering.

The NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize is worth $20,000 and is given each year to the individual with the highest ranking in NSERC’s postdoctoral fellowship competition. The $10,000 NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prizes reward those master’s and doctoral students with the highest rankings in their respective scholarship competitions. The $10,000 Doctoral Prizes recognize Canada’s best doctoral theses, as nominated by their universities. The nominations are reviewed by a selection committee.

“These are Canada’s future research superstars," said Blain. "They will advance our understanding of the universe around us. They will uncover and explore new areas of knowledge. They will be trailblazers, driving the innovations of tomorrow.”