On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, award-winning Queen’s researchers gathered at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts to celebrate the achievements of their peers at Applause: A Celebration of Research Excellence. Hosted by the Vice-Principal Research portfolio, the event recognized the accomplishments of 80 scholars who, from 2021 to 2023, were the recipients of 99 national and international prizes and awards for their research and scholarship.
Principal Patrick Deane and Vice-Principal (Research) Nancy Ross, alongside award recipients John Smol (Biology), Praveen Jain (Electrical Engineering), and Cathleen Crudden (Chemistry), shared inspiring words on the importance of the awards in helping to support research advancement, student and faculty recruitment, and in building global profile for the researcher, their research program, and Queen’s.
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Research Excellence Highlights
Receiving the prestigious Vega Medal
John Smol has joined the ranks of some of the world’s most adventurous, and well-decorated, scientists. The Queen’s professor and former Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change is now a member of an elite group of explorers, oceanographers, geographers, and anthropologists bestowed with the Vega Medal. Sometimes referred to as equivalent to a "Nobel Prize in Geography," the Vega Medal is awarded by the Swedish Society of Anthropology and Geography (SSAG) every two to three years to an outstanding geographer or anthropologist with international renown. Dr. Smol collected his prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, the society’s chief patron. When announcing this year’s recipient, SSAG described Dr. Smol as "unquestionably one of the most prolific scientists in paleolimnology, and certainly the most prolific regarding northern lake systems."
Read more about Dr. Smol's achievementsRecognizing outstanding research
World-leading expert in the field of materials science and organic chemistry, Cathleen Crudden is the recipient of one of the most prestigious research awards in Canada: the John C. Polanyi Award. Awarded annually by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the honour recognizes her innovative and impactful approach to protecting metal surfaces using organic molecules.
Read more about Dr. Crudden's NSERC Polanyi AwardBreaking down walls for a net-zero future
On Nov. 9, 1989, the demolition of the Berlin Wall was both literal and symbolic, as it marked the falling of concrete and imagined barriers. Twenty years later, inspired by these events, a not-for-profit organization was founded in Berlin, Germany to connect stakeholders in the areas of science, business, politics, and arts to break down the invisible borders that still separate science and society. Each November since then, The Falling Walls Foundation brings together international experts and leaders to share big ideas that can tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
The annual summit combines keynotes, discussions, and pitches on research and science engagement, culminating in the Falling Walls Breakthrough Day, when invited speakers share the stage with the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year winners in six categories. Laureates of the Breakthrough of the Year prizes are selected from a pool of over 1,000 nominations of researchers worldwide. In 2023, Queen’s professor Cao Thang Dinh (Chemical Engineering) is the winner of the Engineering and Technology category.
Read more about Dr. Dinh's awardTop Canadian honours for two field-leading researchers
Two researchers from Queen’s have been awarded prestigious honours from the National Killam Program. The Killam Fellowships and Prizes recognize outstanding career achievements in the health sciences, engineering, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences that contribute to building Canada's future and increasing the scientific impact of Canadians through research.
Claire Davies (Mechanical and Materials Engineering) is the recipient of one of eight Dorothy Killam Fellowships (valued at $160,000 over two years) to support scholars in carrying out groundbreaking projects, while Praveen Jain (Electrical and Computer Engineering) is one of five researchers nationally to receive a Killam Prize (valued at $100,000), which recognize and celebrate Canada’s most inspiring scholars and thought leaders.
Read more about Drs. Davies and JainRoyal Society awards
In acknowledgement of their outstanding achievements, two Queen’s researchers have been awarded medals from the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). John Smol (Biology) and Jacalyn Duffin (History, Medicine), who are both Fellows of the society, have each been recognized for their important contributions in advancing knowledge in their fields, marking the fourth and third times that they have been honoured by the RSC.
Read more about Drs. Smol and Duffin