NSERC Prizes
NSERC Awards for Science Promotion
Winners
2024
Dr. Sheila Colla — Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University
Dr. Sheila Colla is a pioneering conservation scientist and educator whose work bridges the gaps between pollinator health, urban ecosystems, and social justice. As one of the first scientists to quantitatively document the decline of a wild bee species, Dr. Colla played a pivotal role in the successful campaign to have the rusty-patched bumblebee listed as endangered in both Canada and the U.S. Her scientific expertise has been crucial in shaping pollinator advocacy, inspiring several campaigns that engage both citizens and policymakers alike.
In 2011, Dr. Colla co-founded BumbleBeeWatch.org, a citizen science initiative that has collected over 172,000 photo records of bumblebees across North America. This platform has empowered the public to actively participate in bee conservation and become informed about the vital role of pollinators, particularly in urban environments. Her efforts have not only transformed public understanding but have also earned her numerous accolades, including the Ontario Nature Education Award, the York University President's Research Impact Award, the Entomological Society of Canada’s C. Gordon Hewitt Award, and the American Library Association’s Outstanding Reference Source Award.
Dr. Colla is also a trusted voice in science communication, speaking on platforms such as CBC, Reuters, CNN, The Washington Post, and CTV National to reach millions of people. Her written work—including opinion pieces, articles, and books like The Bumblebees of North America: An Identification Guide and A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee—has made pollinator conservation more relatable and actionable for Canadians, offering practical ways for people to support native pollinators right from their backyards.
Throughout her career, Dr. Colla has exemplified leadership in both science and advocacy, especially as a woman of colour in STEM. She is a role model for aspiring scientists and actively contributes to initiatives that promote diversity and equity in the field. Dr. Colla is dedicated to her outreach efforts, mentoring young ecologists and citizen scientists, and inspiring others to take part in the conservation movement.
Dr. Colla’s work demonstrates that science is not only about data—it’s about connecting people to the natural world and motivating them to protect it for future generations. Her approach underscores how science can be both impactful and accessible, solidifying her role as one of Canada’s leading advocates for pollinator and habitat preservation.
The Aurora Research Institute STEM Outreach Program
The Aurora Research Institute’s (ARI) STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Outreach Program inspires and empowers youth across the Northwest Territories (NWT) through hands-on STEM education. For over eight years, ARI has engaged around 8,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 students annually, ensuring access to high-quality programming, especially in remote and underserved communities. The program is led by a dedicated team of three full-time staff based in regional research centers in Inuvik, Yellowknife, and Fort Smith.
The ARI’s STEM Outreach Program removes financial and regional barriers to STEM education by offering a variety of delivery methods, including classroom visits, after-school programs, and remote activities. Initiatives like the award-winning “Train the Teacher, Loan the Gear” program equip educators with the tools and confidence to integrate STEM into their classrooms and communities. The program also extends its reach through community events such as Community Science Nights, Science Rendezvous, and Geoweek, along with resources for summer camps, libraries, and youth centers across the NWT. Additionally, the ARI’s STEM Outreach Program collaborates with local schools, Indigenous organizations, and partners like the Western Arctic Research Centre, Actua, and Let’s Talk Science to provide free programming throughout the region.
A key component of the ARI’s STEM Outreach Program is its focus on integrating Indigenous knowledge, language, and culture into STEM learning. By working with Indigenous governments, Knowledge Holders, and Elders, the program creates opportunities for students to explore connections between Indigenous Knowledge and Western science. This approach fosters a safe space for youth to explore science through cultural practices, language, and their relationship with the natural environment, all while respecting traditional ways of knowing. The program also provides free career chats and visits from STEM professionals to encourage youth to see themselves in STEM roles.
By blending innovative STEM programming with Indigenous knowledge and community engagement, the ARI’s STEM Outreach Program plays a crucial role in nurturing the next generation of northern scientists, engineers, and innovators.
2023
Dr. Pierre Chastenay — Professor, Department of Didactics, Université du Québec à Montréal
Pierre Chastenay began his career in astronomy at age 16, when he worked as a host and guide at the observatory of the Cégep de Trois-Rivières. Now he travels all over Quebec and around the world to speak before various organizations, such as amateur astronomy clubs, and to participate in various activities, such as teachers’ meetings and scientific conferences. His overarching objective: to share his knowledge and transmit his passion for astronomy and for teaching science.
Dr. Chastenay earned his bachelor’s degree in physics and his master’s degree in astrophysics at Université Laval, in Quebec City. He then served as director of education at the Montreal Planetarium, and as spokesperson for this organization for 25 years. In 2013, he completed his doctoral degree in science didactics at the Université de Montréal. Since then, he has held the position of full professor of science didactics at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where he shares his expertise in astronomy didactics, primary-school-teacher training, informal education and science mediation.
Dr. Chastenay’s career as a science communicator and mediator has been rich and varied. In the 1980s, he began his career as a science reporter, narrator and host on both radio and television and later on the web. He also hosted the popular-science shows Le code Chastenay and Les électrons libres on the Télé-Québec television network. More recently, he has worked as a science reporter on radio, in particular on Radio-Canada.
In addition to his work in broadcast media, Dr. Chastenay has written several books to introduce young people to astronomy, including Je deviens astronome; La Terre, la Lune et le Soleil; La tournée des planètes; and Une visite guidée du système solaire. His work has helped to stimulate public interest in science and to make it more accessible, and he has left a lasting legacy in the field of science mediation.
Over his many years as a highly regarded science lecturer and broadcaster, he has left his mark in the fields of astronomy and science mediation and has received many awards and honours:
- Prix Raymond-Charrette 2014: Awarded by the Conseil supérieur de la langue française in recognition of his exemplary use of French in the media.
- Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade 2015: Awarded by the Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie in recognition of his commitment to high-quality communication in French.
- Prix Gémeaux 2016: Awarded for his television show Le code Chastenay.
- 2017 Qilak Award: Presented by the Canadian Astronomical Society to recognize his exceptional contribution to the Canadian public’s understanding and appreciation of astronomy.
- 2017 Sandford Fleming Medal: Awarded by the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, for the quality and importance of his science-mediation work throughout Canada.
- Prix Thérèse-Patry 2020: Awarded by the Association des communicateurs scientifiques du Québec to honour his exceptional contribution to the scientific culture of Quebec.
As professor at the Department of Didactics at the UQAM, Dr. Chastenay is training a new generation of teachers at the primary and secondary levels, instilling in them his passion for teaching astronomy and science in general. In recognition of his remarkable commitment to the promotion of astronomy and to science mediation, he has received the 2023 NSERC Award for Science Promotion. Through his lasting influence, he continues to inspire inquiring minds and to awaken their fascination with the universe.
Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology (WISEST), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology (WISEST) has been engaging women and other underrepresented groups in science, engineering and technology since 1982.
As a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach trailblazer in Canada, WISEST heightens awareness and dismantles barriers to diversity. Its goal is to ensure that anyone with a passion for STEM fields can thrive in them.
In its early years, WISEST hosted two national conferences dedicated to promoting women in science. These events laid the foundation for developing programs and networks that encouraged women to pursue their passions in science.
WISEST has also established summer research programs that place students in research facilities at the University of Alberta, providing them with hands-on experience and exposure to scientific inquiry. Many young women and gender-diverse students are currently doing research at the university’s College of Natural + Applied Sciences as a result of these programs.
The Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) conference, facilitated by WISEST, has for years ignited enthusiasm for these fields among young women, fostering a sense of belonging and possibility. And since the 1990s, WISEST has also organized the CHOICES Conference, which sees grade 6 female and gender-diverse students exchange experiences, meet role models, and explore diverse career paths in STEM.
WISEST’s impactful awareness initiatives have been closely aligned with student needs for more than 40 years. The organization has influenced more than 60,000 students by engaging them during critical educational stages (primarily grades 6 through 12), while its broader outreach efforts have reached countless others. Each year, WISEST delivers in-person activities to more than 1,500 students from Alberta and beyond, collaborates with more than 300 science teachers, and interacts with hundreds of other individuals during outreach events.
WISEST’s unwavering commitment to breaking down barriers and advancing diversity in science, engineering and technology has shaped an inclusive community. Its legacy spans four decades and has contributed significantly to changing the narrative about who can thrive in STEM fields. In recognition of these contributions, WISEST was selected as the winner of the 2023 NSERC Award for Science Promotion (Organization).
2022
Dr. Joseph Khoury – Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa
You can’t talk about math literacy and outreach in Canada without mentioning Dr. Joseph Khoury. Dr. Khoury has more than two decades of furthering mathematics through community outreach activities, while also helping advance the importance of having a solid foundation in Mathematics among young students. A few of the many outstanding activities fostered by Dr. Khoury are Math Horizons Day, the Math Poster competition, the Problem of the Month, and the highly recognized Math Camp.
Dr. Khoury has a mission. He thrives at showing students the relevance of math and statistics in everything around us, from biology, ecology, meteorology, and cyber security to computer science and even forestry. Dr. Khoury loves to think outside the box by finding interesting topics and applications that highlight the power of knowledge in mathematics, and their relevance in many significant discoveries made in that field in the past few decades.
He knows that when students, at any level, do not see the relevance of the subject they are studying, their interest in learning that subject decreases and they are less willing to work hard to understand it. Dr. Khoury strives to counter this reality by exposing the lesser-known side of mathematics. More specifically, the practical face of mathematics and statistics that makes them attractive, accessible, and ultimately more fun to learn at school and by the public at large.
In his current position in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Khoury has spearheaded many academic and outreach activities to expose students to a “different kind of mathematics, one that they wouldn’t necessarily have in their curriculum.” At the request of the Canadian Mathematics Society, Dr, Khoury has the responsibility of being the national coordinator for all math camps across Canada. Today, there are 23 CMS math camps across Canada, with at least one camp in every province, and the recent establishment of the first-ever Math Camp in a Canadian territory.
He has authored many books, articles, and electronic publications with mathematics playing the main role, most notably The Mathematics That Power Our World — How Is It Made?, published in 2017, and Jim Totten’s Problems of the Week, providing, you guessed it, a wide selection of mathematical problems. Additional works include A Tale of Discrete Mathematics; Linear Algebra Close to Earth, and a student guide to success in mathematics.
In 2021, Dr. Khoury received the Adrien Pouliot Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to promoting mathematics and mathematical education in Canada. In 2020, he received the National CMS Excellence in Teaching Award, one of the most prestigious Canadian awards for teaching postsecondary Mathematics. In 2017, Dr. Khoury received the Graham Wright Award for Distinguished Service for the Canadian Mathematical community. At the University level, he is the recipient of many recognitions, including the President’s Award for Service Excellence.
For his career-long contributions to the promotion of mathematics and statistics, Dr. Joseph Khoury is the recipient of the 2022 NSERC Awards for Science Promotion.
2021
Dr. Jennifer Campos - The KITE Research Institute
Dr. Jennifer Campos is a Canada Research Chair (II), Senior Scientist, and Associate Director – Academics at the KITE (Knowledge Innovation, Talent, Everywhere) Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network. She is also an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Associate Scientific Director of AGE-WELL Network Centres of Excellence.
Dr. Campos has been an enthusiastic and dedicated champion of science promotion to the public for more than 20 years. She has earned the respect of her peers and become a role model in her field while building a reputation as a leading Canadian science authority and advocate. Her contributions to science promotion have spanned audiences and focus on four intersecting domains:
- Youth outreach through dedicated programming and direct access to researchers and research facilities
- Advocacy efforts for under-represented groups in STEM
- Science advocacy through local and national public media outlets (e.g., Nature of Things, Daily Planet)
- Public education strategies that translate leading research into easy to adopt approaches that improve quality of life
Throughout her career, Dr. Campos has made it a priority to engage youth organizations and welcome school classes into research laboratories. In creating the KITE Young Innovators program alone, her science promotion activities have engaged more than 35,000 youth and their educators since 2012, and she has championed the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM by devising local and national youth-targeted events.
She is the Organizer of the KITE Women in Science exchange program, the Chair of the University Health Network IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility) youth outreach committee, and a frequent speaker at events promoting women in science within Canada and internationally. She has been recognized for her science education contributions through awards such as the Contribution to Student and Professional Education: Leader Award (Toronto Rehab Institute) and the KITE Senior Scientist Mentorship and Leadership Award.
For her career-long contributions to the promotion of science and her commitment to expanding equity, diversity and inclusivity within STEM fields, Dr. Jennifer Campos is the recipient of the 2021 NSERC Awards for Science Promotion (Individual).
The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience)
The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience) is the recipient of the NSERC Award for Science Promotion (Organization). Since its founding in 1849, the Institute has helped shape the scientific landscape of Canada and it currently fills a critical need: to foster public engagement with science.
A common thread running through the long history of RCIScience is connecting Canadians with science. Seventy years ago, attending an “Institute” talk meant dressing up on a Saturday night and heading down to the University of Toronto to listen to an eminent scientist give a presentation. Today, you can still hear talks from eminent scientists, but right alongside them are early-career researchers on the cusp of discovery. If you’ve dressed up, it’s more likely that you’re at a tasting to explore the chemistry behind a wheel of brie or you’re attending one of their science-themed variety shows.
RCIScience is one of the few organizations that keeps its focus mainly on adult audiences. Using many types of engagement, RCIScience reaches a range of audiences, from the merely curious to the deeply knowledgeable. Different programs allow people to participate at their own pace, by attending live events, watching them later on YouTube, reading a blog or following an Instagram takeover. RCIScience provides many pathways to engagement with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The COVID-19 pandemic took this outreach to a new level. Rather than shutting down (as it did during the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1921), RCIScience turned entirely to online program delivery. While some events covered timely topics such as the COVID-19 vaccines and pandemic trends, others talked about forest fires, the future of food, and the importance of exercise for mental as well as physical health.
In the last three years alone, RCIScience has hosted 115 events featuring over 300 scientists and reaching more than two million people, both in person and online. Thanks to the help of more than 100 volunteers, most of these programs are delivered free of charge or at very low cost to encourage participation. Details on upcoming events can be found on the RCIScience website or by following @RCIScience on social media.
2020
Dr. Kevin Hewitt – Dalhousie University
Dr. Kevin Hewitt is the recipient of the 2020 NSERC Award for Science Promotion (Individual).
A professor of Physics and Chair of Senate at Dalhousie University, Dr. Hewitt’s passion is to foster interest in and access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for students of African descent in Nova Scotia.
He was instrumental in creating the Dalhousie University’s Imhotep Legacy Academy (ILA), an innovative university-community partnership that bridges the achievement gap for students of African heritage in grades six to 12. Thanks to his leadership, the ILA has attracted more African Nova Scotian students - over 800 - to STEM fields in the past decade than Dalhousie Universityhas done in two-centuries.
Dr. Hewitt has also delivered over forty invited science education presentations at conferences internationally. Recognition of his work includes invitations to the American Physical Society and features on the radio, television, and in print. In his research in bionanophotonics, Dr. Hewitt has supervised 12 honours students, 28 summer students, three MSc, and five Ph.D. students as they research the use of laser light scattering technique for the diagnosis of early stages of cancer, as well as the use of the combinatorial method to search for new superconductors.
His remarkable contributions to the world of science do not stop in the lab or with science outreach. He was a part of the first Canadian institutional investigation, with President Richard Florizone the Lord Dalhousie Scholarly panel, of the founder’s links to racism and slavery. Shedding light on systemic racism within Canada, Dr. Hewitt has also co-authored a report on Indigenous and African Canadian student access and retention.
Dr. Hewitt is also the first African Canadian to win the University of Toronto’s Scarborough College Physics prize, and he has been recognized nationally with the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence, and provincially with the Discovery Centre Science Champion Award.
University of Ottawa Faculty of Engineering Outreach Team
The University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering Outreach Team is the recipient of this year’s NSERC Award for Science Promotion (Group), thanks to its success in delivering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programming to K-12 girls and young women in the Ottawa and Gatineau region. With more than 48,000 students each year, the team operates the largest university K-12 STEM outreach effort in Canada.
The outreach team focuses on providing underserved youth hands on STEM experiences that expose them to real laboratories, tools, and rapid prototyping technologies. Through its fleet of makerspaces on wheels called “Maker Mobiles”, it brings innovative programming and technologies to underserved rural, urban and indigenous communities in the hopes of fostering interest for STEM careers. Through these visits, the team provides free weeks of camp for indigenous and refugee children, while administering bursaries for families in need.
Based on the team’s remarkable efforts, the Ministry of Education of Ontario in 2018 awarded the Team credit-granting authority, providing high school credits to students in Grades 9, 10, and 11. This allows the team to design custom programs, such as its all-girl computer science courses, which connects young women with industry mentors, while exposing students to advanced content which may not be available at their high school. The team’s latest endeavor aims to open source all its content, courses and training as a means of providing educators, the necessary skills, materials and training in the hopes of increasing design, engineering and computer science literacy across Canada.
2019
Dr. Lynda Colgan
Author of Mathemagic!: Number Tricks, Dr. Lynda Colgan is a tricky equation herself. Described by colleagues as a “myth-buster of mathematics,” she is the 2019 recipient of the NSERC Award for Science Promotion (Individual).
A professor of Elementary Mathematics Education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Dr. Colgan has helped develop important resources for the mathematics curriculum across Canada, including textbooks, research monographs and teacher and parent resource guides.
It was a 1993 Faculty of Education open house that became the catalyst for her quest to make mathematics and science fun and accessible for everyone: students, parents, teachers and the public. Her first event as city-wide mathematics leader demonstrated her ingenuity with experiments that transformed household items into curiosity-inspiring projects. For example, she made a hypsometer—an instrument for measuring height—out of cardboard, string, straws and washers, which was used to measure inaccessible heights, such as the (then) Scarborough City Hall. One theme was repeated over and over again about these events: people never knew math could be fun, nor had they never dreamed that angles and algebra could be useful.
As an educator, Dr. Colgan recognizes the struggles teachers face making mathematics engaging for their students. Through her work with the Mathematics Knowledge Network and as coordinator of Queen’s University’s Let’s Talk Science, she has hosted events to facilitate knowledge mobilization across the province. Dr. Colgan also created an engaging website that provides electronic, print and video resources for teachers, early childhood educators and parents. For many years, she has coordinatedSTEM-focused alternative practicum placements, a three-week program for Bachelor of Education candidates to work with community partners (such as the Boys and Girls Club, Kingston Literacy and Skills, and the Museum of Health Care) in non-classroom educational settings to develop creative means of bringing STEM to students. These efforts were recognized by Queen’s University with the Distinguished Service Award in 2017.
Dr. Colgan constantly searches for creative avenues to engage students, parents and educators in science and mathematics. She was the “Wizard of Kingston” with a bi-weekly column in the Whig Standard for eight years, a column so successful it led to an invitation to develop two children’s television shows (The Prime Radicals and mathXplosion), an award-winning children’s book (Mathemagic!: Number Tricks), three ministry tool kits (Inspiring your child to learn and love math; Choose a Path that includes math; MathStorytime) and the Building Parent Engagement Project. These projects were so successful that she has been invited once again to create a set of math shorts for Polkaroo and Friends Learn Math in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of TVO (Ontario’s English-language educational television network and media organization).
Dr. Colgan has also been the spearhead for Science Rendezvous Kingston, a massive “hands-on, heads-in” celebration of STEM subjects and discoveries. Scientists and researchers feature demonstrations, experiments and exhibits to bring people of all ages—toddlers to retirees—from across south-eastern Ontariointo the world of science. Participation in Science Rendezvous Kingston has grown each year as its reputation spreads, from 650 to over 5000 attendees in 2019; a hugely successful event, which earned Dr. Colgan and her team the Gold Medal STEAM Big! Award.
Centre de démonstration en sciences physiques (Physical Sciences Demonstration Centre)
In 1998, Cégep Garneau, a post-secondary college in Quebec City, began a great adventure when it launched its Centre de démonstration en sciences physiques (CDSP – Physical Sciences Demonstration Centre), dedicated to the mission of science education. In 2019, the CDSP received one of the two annual NSERC Awards for Science Promotion. This award confers national recognition on the centre’s unique approach to showcasing science with accuracy and originality for both young and old.
The CDSP offers science education and outreach activities for a wide variety of audiences. Each year, using the innovative demonstration/conference format that it first developed in 2003, the centre makes some 150 presentations on a selected topic. Employing ingenious combinations of scientific equipment and a system of video cameras, these presentations let audience members observe surprising scientific phenomena, but go well beyond merely explaining them. Instead, the focus is on current and historical controversies and achievements selected to make people think about the nature of science and technology, including their cultural and social aspects. The demonstration/conferences also spotlight the major contributions that women have made to scientific progress. In addition to these events, the centre takes many other initiatives and deploys many other resources to stimulate public interest in science, such as science cabarets, radio broadcasts and numerous projects in partnership with museums, television programs and live events.
Based at the Cégep Garneau post-secondary college, the CDSP also works closely with other educational institutions throughout Quebec. It provides teaching tools and training activities on various scientific subjects to educators and technicians at the primary, secondary and college levels. In addition, every year the centre deploys a team of Cégep Garneau science students as science ambassadors to run science-exploration workshops at schools in the Quebec City area. Each year the centre also coordinates a science competition called Science, on tourne! for Quebec college students. The CDSP also strives to make its services accessible as widely as possible. For example, the centre’s Partout la science project uses videoconferencing to run interactive conference/demonstrations at schools in remote areas. The centre also provides its demonstrations free of charge to schools in disadvantaged communities.
The CDSP’s success can be measured by its influence on the public. Since 2003, the centre has welcomed over 100,000 participants to its conference/demonstrations. The evaluations completed by the public, students and teachers clearly indicate that this format has stimulated interest in the sciences. Over 80% of the teachers surveyed even reported that the CDSP’s offerings encourage their students to continue their education in science and technology.
