Formerly the Maxxam Award
Sponsored by the University of Windsor
The Ricardo Aroca Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of analytical chemistry while working in Canada.
The 2026 awards are now open for submission.
Nominate yourself or a colleague deserving of recognition.
Press release: Award winners will be recognized at the x2026 Conference.
View the Terms of Reference and list of Past Winners
The 2025 winner of the Ricardo Aroca Award is:
Li-Lin Tay, MCIC
National Research Council Canada
Li-Lin Tay is a Principal Research Officer and Team Lead in the Metrology Research Centre at the National Research Council Canada (NRC). She holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, both from University of Toronto. Her Ph.D. thesis under Prof. Martin Moskovits focused on the near-field single molecule surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). She joined the NRC in 2002 and initially led the research effort on light scattering of quantum confined semiconductor devices. Since 2012, she has focused her research on the development of optical sensors and Raman metrology. She and her team are recognized for their work on the SERS and IR sensors and their application in field-deployable chemical and biological agent detection.
Dr. Tay is the team lead of Photometry and Spectrophotometry. She also leads the team in the development of state-of-the-art optical radiation measurement and advanced optical spectroscopies in support of Canada’s commitment to the Mutual Recognition Arrangement in the international committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM-MRA). Her team is responsible for the realization and dissemination of a broad range of photometry, spectrophotometry and infrared radiometry measurements. She serves as chair of the Raman Metrology Task group and vice-chair of the Surface Analysis Working Group in the Consultative Committee for the Amount of Substances (CCQM) and as the Canadian delegate to the Consultative Committee on Photometry and Radiometry (CCPR).