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Arushi Nath. Grade 9 Student. Toronto

On 1 November 2023, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) awarded this year’s top NSERC Awards at a ceremony held at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. As a back-to-back winner of the top awards of the 2023 and 2022 Canada-Wide Science Fair, I got an invitation to join this ceremony. You can learn more about my research on developing algorithms for asteroid astrometry and photometry to measure the success of the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission at www.MonitorMyPlanet.com

I could not attend the ceremony last year, but I was determined to attend it this year, and I am glad I did. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about the exceptional research carried out in Canada on issues ranging from astronomy to microbiology, ocean sciences, wastewater and machine learning and how it impacted us. I even got to meet and talk to several researchers, ask them questions, and understand what it takes to produce impactful research.

Around 100 people gathered for the awards ceremony, including award winners, their family members/supporters, professors and researchers, representatives from government and embassies, and NSERC staff. The evening started at 5.30 pm when people began to arrive at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and there was an hour for getting to know each other and having conversations. The formal award ceremony started at 6.30 pm.

The Awards and What I Learned About the Research Undertaken

Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships

The first award of the evening was the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships given out by none other than the 2015 Nobel Prize Winner astrophysicist Arthur B. McDonald himself. He is known for discoveries that neutrinos (the tiniest subatomic particles in the universe) have mass. These Fellowships were to early-stage academic researchers in the natural sciences and engineering from various universities in Canada. 

There were six recipients of these awards: Amanda Bates (for gathering large collaborator networks and using biodiversity datasets to identify ecological responses to global change in oceans), Nicolas Cowan (for pioneering techniques to map the surfaces and atmospheres of exoplanets), Foutse Khomh (for Trustworthy AI – improving the dependability and trustworthiness of software systems), Karen Maxwell (for identifying new archetype of phage defence that has opened the door to the discovery of new drugs for treating viral and bacterial infections), Chelsea Rochman (for identifying the sources, fate and impacts of microplastics and their associated chemicals in aquatic ecosystems), and Mark Schmidt (making machine learning faster and more user-friendly so it can become more broadly accessible).

It was wonderful to have one of the awardees (Nicolas Cowan) recognized for his work on astronomy, particularly exoplanetary atmospheres. This area of research is of interest to me. Coincidentally, I contacted Dr. Cowan some months ago when he became Canada’s lead in the European Space Agency’s upcoming Ariel mission. I have been doing citizen science research for the Ariel Mission’s ExoClock initiative by improving the ephemeris of transiting exoplanets. It was wonderful to discover this connection!

Synergy Awards for Innovation

The Synergy Awards for Innovation recognized collaborative research between scientific organizations, colleges and universities. The winners were Michael Organ (for developing a novel reactor design that led to the preparation of billions of COVID-19 test kits), Beth Parker (for innovative multi-level monitoring well network for drinking water supply that led to the safe operation of Guelph’s water supply wells), Allen Curry (for developing new knowledge about the river ecosystem and New Brunswick Power with greater confidence for renewable energy generation), and the team Guillaume Caron, Léo Charest and Dominic Lanteigne (on air-pollutant emissions -to analyze combustion cycles and to make the necessary adjustments to improve the environmental performance of wood-burning appliances). The theme of collaboration came up repeatedly during the ceremony – many awardees recognized their teams and partnerships, which made their research possible.

Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering

The Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering went to Heather Sheardown and the C20/20 team at McMaster University, the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. The C20/20 team addresses complex ophthalmic problems that must be tackled with deep knowledge from different perspectives ranging from basic science to biomaterials and applied manufacturing. For instance, the C20/20 team created a comfortable eye drop product that only requires dosing twice per week and delivers faster clinical results, reducing the burden for both patients and healthcare providers. The Prize recognized the work of the team on eye diseases and vision impairment, which impacts millions of Canadians.

John C. Polanyi Award

The John C. Polanyi Award was given to Cathleen Crudden from Queen’s University for her breakthrough discovery in organic-on-metal coatings and overall contribution to the advancement of the field of chemistry. Dr. Crudden is a world-leading scientist whose research on the use of organic coatings to modify metal surfaces. Organic-on-metal coatings are critical components of most electrochemical, biological and optical sensors. She was the first to demonstrate a special kind of carbon-based ligands that form organic films on metal surfaces and resist decomposition under a range of conditions, including solvents, oxidation, and extreme temperatures.

Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research

The recipient of the NSERC Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research was Peter Vanrolleghem for his work on COVID-19 epidemiological monitoring through wastewater analysis. His work on analyzing sewage water was fascinating as it had a clear application: to be used as a low-cost, aggregated, early warning system for new epidemic outbreaks. His work allows detection of trends in the pandemic of a city days ahead, allowing better preparation time for public health authorities to manage the epidemic. I was slightly familiar with that work as it was reported in the media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donna Strickland, on whose name the award is instituted, is a Canadian Nobel Prize winner in Physics 2018 for her work on developing chirped pulse amplification, which led to the creation of the most intense laser pulses used in laser eye surgery.

Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering

The top and most prestigious award, the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, went to Yoshua Bengio from the University of Montreal for his work on deep learning (artificial intelligence) and its applications. Interestingly, I had come across the work of Dr. Bengio before while taking up some online courses on Coursera during the COVID-19 school lockdowns.

What I Learned Talking with Researchers

After the formal award ceremony, we all moved to the second floor of the Museum for a reception. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet the award winners and other researchers gathered there. The gathering was friendly, and everyone was very forthcoming about sharing details about the research they were doing in a manner that a school student could understand. I met astronomers, biologists, chemists, geologists, mathematicians, marine scientists, policymakers, researchers and family members supporting the award winners.

The fact that the work of some of the Canadian researchers being recognized at the Awards ceremony was already known among school students indicates the impact of the research work carried out in Canada and the applications that have emerged from it. The research of award recipients focused on ongoing topics (climate change, water systems, exoplanetary atmospheres) and issues which demanded immediate attention, such as developing COVID-19 pandemic monitoring systems and COVID-19 testing kits. It showed that the Canadian research sector is responsive and can direct its research to pressing needs to produce applications that positively impact millions of lives.

I learned that continuous collaborations and partnerships are essential to produce world-class results. It was amazing to see so many Awards recognize this collaboration and most winners acknowledging the role played by their research team. I will remember these three words that researchers shared can lead to producing quality research. They are: “I don’t know”. When researchers profess they do not know something about an issue, it opens up avenues to learn more about it. Researchers are usually embracing of working together if you state what you do not know. I have found this to be true in my personal experiences too. When I take a complex project, I try to break it into smaller sections and work on individual sections to produce a model or a prototype. When I face a problem, I find it easier to seek help from the wider community when I show what I did and where I need some guidance to proceed from there.

We need to long-term and substantially fund and encourage curiosity-driven exploratory research. This research may not have an immediate application but, over time, could lay the foundation for game-changing innovations and applications. The need to attract and retain talent at every stage is also critical. Given the high cost of living, it is important to pay the researchers, especially young and early-career researchers, above the poverty levels. This will ensure they apply their knowledge to solving societal and bigger challenges instead of being driven to industry-oriented jobs or opportunities south of the border to the United States.

Some Suggestions to Raise a STEM-ignited NexGen in Post-COVID-19 World

I think the research investments and funding should start earlier, to even include school students. We are the most connected generation ever and are aware of scientific research and developments happening in the world, be it in the area of astronomy or marine sciences, microbiology or machine learning. Our learning pathways have also changed. COVID-19 lockdowns spurred the use of Zoom, online courses and virtual conferences to learn about a new topic, connect with researchers, collaborate with them, undertake projects and then present them virtually – while attending school. STEM conversations and collaborations are starting earlier and need to be encouraged so that more students pursue STEM, undertake curiosity-driven projects, and maintain this curiosity and scientific temper no matter what career paths they choose.

It calls for greater investments in school science project scholarships, new and expanded science centres, research collaboration platforms, open-data sharing, allowing students access to conferences, creating community maker spaces, opening up high-speed computing facilities to students, more science festivals, fairs and competitions, and encouraging greater diversity in science.

Arushi Nath, Founder. www.MonitorMyPlanet.com