Keith Laidler Award

Sponsored by the CSC Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Division

This award recognizes outstanding early-career contributions to physical chemistry, for research carried out in Canada, by a scientist residing in Canada.

View the Terms of Reference and list of Past Winners

The 2022 winner of the Keith Laidler Award is:

W. Scott Hopkins, MCIC
University of Waterloo

Scott Hopkins is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. His research explores gas phase ion chemistry and employs controlled environments to study the evolution of condensed phase properties. Hopkins’ research develops and uses experimental tools such as ion mobility spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and laser spectroscopy, as well as computational tools including artificial intelligence. His work has application in areas such as nanotechnology, environmental analysis, and drug discovery.

As of early 2022, Hopkins has authored three patents and 80 peer-reviewed articles in top tier chemistry journals. He has co-authored more than 210 presentations at conferences and research institutions, including 47 invited seminars, and his work has been highlighted on journal covers 12 times. Hopkins has been recognized with several awards and honours, including the Early Researcher Award of the Province of Ontario (2017), and the Young Investigator Award of the Canadian Society for Mass Spectrometry (2020). He was invited to co-chair the 2021 American Society for Mass Spectrometry Annual Conference and he served on the NSERC Evaluation Group for Chemistry as member (2020-2021) and group co-chair (2022) for physical, theoretical, and analytical chemistry.

Group website

Past Winners