Sponsored by the CSC Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Division, University of Toronto, Department of Chemistry and Xerox Canada



The John C. Polanyi Award is presented for excellence by a scientist carrying out research in Canada in physical, theoretical or computational chemistry or chemical physics.
View the Terms of Reference and list of Past Winners

The 2021 winner of the John C. Polanyi Award is:
Zuo-Guang Ye, MCIC
Simon Fraser University
Zuo-Guang Ye received his Ph.D. degree from l’Université de Bordeaux, France, and did post-doc research at l’Université de Genève, Switzerland. He joined the faculty of Simon Fraser University in 1997, and has been a full professor with tenure since 2003. He was named a Distinguished SFU Professor in 2020. He served as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2009 to 2014 and was a Funding Director of the 4D LABS, an interdisciplinary materials research centre.
Ye conducts research work in the areas of materials chemistry and physics, with emphasis on solid state multi-functional materials of complex oxides. Ye has given 190+ plenary/keynotes/invited talks, and published 380+ peer-reviewed research papers, 10 review articles and book chapters, and one book, “Handbook of Advanced Dielectric, Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Materials”.
Ye was the recipient of the 2014 Institute of Electric & Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Ferroelectrics Recognition Award, and the American Ceramic Society’s 2015 Spriggs Phase Equilibria Award. He was elected as a Fellow of the IEEE (2017) and received the 2019 IEEE Robert E. Newnham Ferroelectrics Award. In 2019, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Ye was the General Chair for several national (CSC-2014) and international conferences, and led the international committee for the publication of the first “IEEE Standard for Relaxor-Based Single Crystals for Transducer and Actuator Applications” (Std. 1859TM-2017).