Canada Research Chair Cheryl M. Bartlett awarded Order of Canada

January 13, 2012 | Cheryl M. Bartlett, Canada Research Chair in Integrative Science, was recently named a Member of the Order of Canada for her efforts in developing a new approach to integrating Mi’kmaq learning traditions into postsecondary science education.

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Canada Research Chair André D. Bandrauk appointed to Order of Canada

December 5, 2011 | André D. Bandrauk, Canada Research Chair in Computational Chemistry and Molecular Photonics at the Université de Sherbrooke, has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his pioneering work in attosecond chemistry.

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Canada Research Chair receives MacArthur “genius” grant

October 24, 2011 | Sarah Otto, Canada Research Chair in Theoretical and Experimental Evolution at The University of British Columbia, has been awarded a $500,000 genius grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in the United States.

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DISCOVERY PAVES WAY FOR “SMART” SURGICAL DEVICES

October 20, 2011 | The University of British Columbia’s Srikantha Phani has discovered how to make soft materials, such as plastics and foam, remember their shapes.

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PHYSICIST LOUIS TAILLEFER AWARDED ORDER OF CANADA

September 28, 2011 | Louis Taillefer, Canada Research Chair in Quantum Materials, was recently invested by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, as a recipient of the Order of Canada for his work on understanding the behavior of electrons in matter.

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CHAIRS PROGRAM RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING Peer review CONTRIBUTIONS

September 16, 2011 | Each year 1,200 of Canada’s top scientists and scholars volunteer their time and effort to reviewing applications to the Canada Research Chairs Program. Their contributions ensure that all Canada Research Chairs are awarded based on an independent peer review process that adheres to the highest international standards of quality and integrity.

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CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR LINKS INCOME, EXERCISE AND BREAKFAST TO CHILDHOOD OBESITY

September 12, 2011 | Wendy Young, Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging at Memorial University, has found that family income levels and whether a child eats breakfast are important determining factors in childhood obesity.

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Update to Administrative Guidelines

August 26, 2011 | The guidelines for administering Canada Research Chair and Canada Excellence Research Chair awards have been merged into one comprehensive document. The Chairs Financial Administration Guide offers detailed information about accepting a chair, responsibilities and accountability, the use of grant funds, reporting, and other administrative matters. Please consult the guide for more details.

David Vocadlo on biotechnology innovation in Canada

Recently named Top 40 Under 40, David Vocadlo, Canada Research Chair in Chemical Biology at Simon Fraser University, leads a 15-member multidisciplinary research team in an expanding field of chemical biology called glycobiology—the study of the role of carbohydrates in biological processes. The Chairs Secretariat caught up with Vocadlo to gather his reflections on his recent recognition and on the current climate of scientific innovation in Canada.

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Canada Research Chair Discovers New Link Between Stress and Bipolar Disorder

June 30, 2011 | Mark A. Ellenbogen at Concordia University has found that children of parents with bipolar disorder are more vulnerable to stress than their peers. He hopes that, by highlighting the link between stress hormones and the home environment, his new research will help prevent the onset of mental health disorders among these children.

While Ellenbogen’s research team already knew that children of bipolar parents have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, their new research explains why.

“This is the first study to highlight people’s reactivity to natural events,” explains Ellenbogen, Canada Research Chair in Developmental Psychopathology. “High reactivity might have some very important significance in terms of an individual’s risk for mental health problems.”

In terms of the implications for families affected by bipolar disorder, Ellenbogen says, “One of the reasons these kids are vulnerable for mental disorders is that they may be more hypersensitive to stress. For parents, learning how to cope with stress and being more structured and consistent in the home are ways to reduce the negative consequences of stress in the family.”

According to studies from the United States, about 1.6 per cent of the adult population lives with bipolar disorder, versus 16 per cent with depression. Ellenbogen expresses the need for education about mental health issues, as well as the need to seek treatment early.

“Despite the fact that we have all sorts of treatments, the prevalence rate still keeps going up every single decade,” he says. “We want to look at how we can institute changes that might actually prevent the development of these disorders.” 

See the full article published in Psychological Medicine.

Resilient communities key to combating climate change, says expert panel

June 8, 2011 | On May 31, 2011, four of Canada’s top experts on climate change gathered at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Fredericton, New Brunswick to discuss how global warming is affecting Canadian communities.  

Together, Canada Research Chairs Andrew Weaver, Ratana Chuenpagdee and Ian Mauro, as well as Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar Noorjehan Johnson, argued that climate change is adding to the serious problems facing vulnerable communities, especially in Canada’s North and coastal regions.  

“Global warming is an underlying cancer that is moving forward,” said Andrew Weaver, Canada Research Chair in Climate Modelling and Analysis at the University of Victoria. “Yet, we continue to deal only with the symptoms, and not the disease.” 

Ian Mauro, Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Environmental Change at Mount Allison University, said that while northern communities may not have a plan to address climate change, they are still acutely aware of the changes occurring around them.  

“Concepts of the environment are firmly embedded in the language of the Inuit people,” said Mauro, whose new film with renowned Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk captures oral histories of Inuit communities related to climate change. “Local knowledge may appear anecdotal, but it matches scientific conclusions.”

Ratana Chuenpagdee, Canada Research Chair in Natural Resource Sustainability and Community Development at Memorial University of Newfoundland, spoke about how communities in Thailand reacted to the devastating 2004 tsunami. “People made the connection between changing weather events and human activity,” she said, adding that many people refused to return to coastal areas to live.  

How then can communities become resilient to the many problems associated with climate change? 

“Developing resilience means developing two sets of practices: relocalization and global citizenship,” said Vanier Scholar Noorjehan Johnson from McGill University. “Relocalization means getting back to the place we are from, for example, using local food sources. Global citizenship involves translating knowledge of global issues into local action, and vice-versa.” 

The panel concluded that a multidisciplinary approach is needed.  

“At the moment, we are looking for a top-down solution. I believe any solution has to come from the grassroots,” said Andrew Weaver. “And we need social scientists to explain the issues. We can’t do it with just the scientists. We all need to work together.”

Expert in Water Security, Dr. Karen Bakker named Top 40 Under 40 

June 3, 2011 | Dr. Karen Bakker, Canada Research Chair in Political Ecology, was recently named among the Top 40 Under 40, recognized for her exceptional work on water security—which touches on the critical issues of water, energy and food security.

“It was surprising and humbling for the whole team I work with,” says Bakker, extending the reward to the cadre of scientists and students she works with at The University of British Columbia. “These awards are always a recognition of a team effort and contribution—it’s never just about one person.”

Having advised the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as other international organizations such as the OECD, Bakker’s work has influenced water policy internationally. Her most recent publication, “Privatizing Water: Governance Failure and the World’s Urban Water Crisis,” has been republished in Asia (by the National University of Singapore).

She continues to help shape Canadian environmental policy, serving as a consultant for two national working groups on water security: the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. Her work has helped to identify some of the water security challenges Canada faces, where, because of a decentralized system of environmental governance, there is not enough shared and coordinated activity on water going on across the country. By pointing out the gaps and inefficiencies in the environmental data we gather and analyze, Bakker’s research helps pave the way for more harmonization and information sharing among governments and the private and not-for-profit sector organizations. Her research group makes an extensive set of resources and publications (many specifically designed for the general public) available free on its website: www.watergovernance.ca.

“I’m extremely grateful for all of the support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canada Research Chairs program,” says Bakker.

Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 was established in 1995 and is a national program that celebrates the achievements of 40 Canadians in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors who have reached a significant level of success before the age of 40. This year’s recipients were announced in late April in the Globe & Mail.  

Canada Research Chair Michele Mosca named to list of Canada's Top 40 Under 40

May 11, 2011 | Canada Research Chair in Quantum Computation, Dr. Michele Mosca has been named among the country’s Top 40 Under 40 for his tremendous contributions to science in Canada.

The award, announced April 28 in The Globe and Mail, recognizes 40 early-career Canadians whose leadership has made positive differences in their communities and the country.

As one of the founding leaders of the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing, as well as a founding researcher at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Mosca has helped put Waterloo and Canada at the forefront of research and innovation.

"Michele's leadership and vision have helped establish the University of Waterloo as a global leader in quantum research," said University of Waterloo president Feridun Hamdullahpur. "His incalculable contributions to science in Canada make him an ideal recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 award."

Mosca and the other 39 recipients were selected from more than 1,000 nominees by an independent advisory board made up of 25 business leaders from across Canada.

“I’m very honoured and thankful to be counted among such a prestigious group of Canadians,” said Mosca. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet this remarkable group of people and gain further inspiration and ideas for the future.”

Honourees were chosen according to five criteria: vision and leadership, innovation and achievement, impact, community involvement, and strategy for growth.

After earning his PhD in mathematics at Oxford, Mosca returned to the University of Waterloo with the vision of establishing a world-class research group to investigate the emerging science of quantum information. 

In 2000, he joined the newly formed Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics as a founding researcher and began assembling a core team of quantum information scientists. This convergence of top scientists led Mike Lazaridis, co-founder and co-CEO of Research in Motion, to fund a new research centre devoted specifically to quantum information — the Institute for Quantum Computing.

Through his research and leadership, and his efforts to create the University of Waterloo’s collaborative graduate studies program in quantum information, Mosca has helped build Canada’s reputation as a worldwide epicentre for quantum research.

“Our goal has been to become the ‘Quantum Valley’ of the world,” said Mosca.  “We have been laying a foundation in Canada, with invaluable support from private, provincial and federal funding. I’d like us to build on that foundation by making major breakthroughs and nurturing the next generation of quantum researchers, to turn the breakthroughs into benefits for society. ”

Canada Research Chair awarded honorary doctorate from the University of Basel

March 31, 2011 | Michael Scott Taylor, Canada Research Chair in International Energy and Environmental Economics at the University of Calgary, was awarded an honorary doctorate in economics from the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Basel.

One of six scholars honoured at the ceremony last November, Taylor was acknowledged for his pioneering work that examines how international trade affects the environment and renewable resources. His most influential work examines the relationship between pollution concentrations in major cities and changes in industrial production brought about by international trade.

Taylor holds a PhD from Queen’s University and a BA and MA from the University of Calgary. Prior to joining the University of Calgary, Taylor was a full professor at both the University of Wisconsin-Madison and The University of British Columbia. He has been a visiting scholar at Princeton University’s Department of Economics, a Killam postdoctoral fellow at the Sauder School of Business at The University of British Columbia, and a scholar in the Economic Growth Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

The honorary doctorate recognizes those who have contributed internationally to academic thought and to the University of Basel—Switzerland’s oldest university.

University of Windsor celebrates Canada Research Chairs

March 15, 2011 | The University of Windsor held a celebratory event last week, honouring its 16 Canada Research Chairs. Included in those congratulated was new Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Molecular Materials, Jeremy Rawson; and renewed Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Development and Optimization of Metal Forming Processes, Daniel Green.

A chemistry professor who came to the University of Windsor from the University of Cambridge last fall, Rawson is working on generating new, innovative ‘smart’ materials and sensors, which will help make electronic devices lighter, smaller and more robust.

Green is a professor in mechanical, automotive and materials engineering. His research has benefited the auto parts industry, particularly in the area of ‘hydroforming’, a technique that makes lightweight steel parts using fluid pressure instead of a punch to form tubular metal parts. He has also successfully developed computer software for automobile suppliers, which not only forms structural car parts, such as frame rails and engine cradles, but it also tests their safety and durability.

The event was attended by Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear, Essex MP Jeff Watson, University of Windsor President Alan Wildeman, Ranjana Bird, VP, Research and a number of other chairholders.

Two Canada Research Chairs to speak at AAAS conference

February 16, 2011 | Two Canada Research Chairs have been invited to speak at the 177th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C.

Margot Parkes, Canada Research Chair in Health, Ecosystems and Society at the University of Northern British Columbia, and Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Canada Research Chair in Isotope Geochemistry of the Earth and the Environment at the University of Toronto, will take part in the THINK CANADA Press Breakfast on February 20.

Focusing on the theme of “water,” the press breakfast aims to promote Canada as the place to undertake research. In addition to the Canada Research Chairs Program, the breakfast will highlight other programs that support Canadian research excellence, including the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program, the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program, and the Networks of Centres of Excellence.

Moderated by Kathryn O’Hara, CTV Chair in Science Broadcast Journalism at Carleton University, the panel will also feature an impressive line-up of research talent, including: Geoff Munro, assistant deputy minister of the innovation and energy technology sector and Natural Resources Canada's chief scientist; Alain Rousseau, from Quebec’s Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau, Terre et Environnement; and Kate Mulligan, a Vanier scholar from McMaster University.

The annual meeting is one of the most widely recognized pan-science events in the world, with some 10,000 delegates expected to attend.

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