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The Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) at Â鶹´«Ã½ University established the Research Excellence Awards and the Research Excellence Chair Program to recognize and retain outstanding researchers at the university. The following individuals were selected through a highly competitive peer review process to receive 2024 awards through either the Research Excellence Award or the Research Excellence Chair Programs.

Details on a recognition event will be confirmed at a later date.

The Research Excellence Awards (REA) are prestigious awards granted annually to recognize up to three tenured and/or tenure track faculty members for their outstanding contributions and achievements in research while at Â鶹´«Ã½ University.

• • • Emerging Researcher: Faculty within the first six years of their first independent academic appointment and are pre-tenured. This award recognizes both early excellence in research and future promise.
      • Award recipient: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education
    • Mid-career Researcher: Faculty who are between the seventh and twelfth years of their first independent academic appointment. This award recognizes recently established research programs that are opening up new fields or insights of inquiry.
      • Award recipient: Dr. Olena Zenkina, Associate Professor, Faculty of Science
    • Established Researcher: Faculty who are beyond the twelfth year of their first independent academic appointment (i.e. 13th year and beyond). These awards recognize recent national and/or international leadership in research in the last six years.
      • Award recipient: Dr. Bill Kapralos, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Information Technology

The Research Excellence Chairs Program was established by Â鶹´«Ã½ University to recognize and retain outstanding researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ University. The program has two streams and is designed to enable researchers to complete a major research program or project. The program emphasizes the importance of research at Â鶹´«Ã½ in strategic areas, while highlighting and promoting the outstanding achievements of our scholars and the university’s commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. 

• • • Stream 1 (Transform): Open to previous Chairholders, including, Canada Research Chairs, Industrial Research Chairs and those who have been awarded and completed an Â鶹´«Ã½ University Research Excellence Chair. 
      • Award recipients:
        • Associate Professor, Faculty of Science
        • , Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences
    • Stream 2 (Ignite): Open to all Tenured and Tenure-Track (TTT) faculty members at Â鶹´«Ã½ University. 
      • Award recipients:
        • Dr. Winnie Sun, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences
        • , Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities
        • , Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities
        • Dr. Ahmad Barari, Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
    • Stream 3 (Social Innovation): Open to all Tenured and Tenure-Track (TTT) faculty members at Â鶹´«Ã½ University (including previous Chairholders) whose research contributes to social innovation, defined as the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues in support of social progress.
      • Award recipients:
        • , Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Information Technology

The Richard Marceau Chair in Clean Energy Research: The Richard Marceau Chair was established to honour the contributions of Dr. Marceau during his tenure as Provost and Vice-President Academic at Â鶹´«Ã½ University (from 2005 to 2013). This Chair reflects Dr. Marceau’s commitment to exploring ways in which scientists, engineers and social scientists can find solutions to the grand challenges of the growth of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) and climate change.

• • Award recipient: Dr. Ibrahim Dincer, Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science