Sponsored by Strem Catalog part of Ascensus Specialties
The Strem Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant who has made an outstanding contribution to inorganic chemistry, demonstrating exceptional promise, while working in Canada.
View the Terms of Reference and list of Past Winners
The 2025 winner of the Strem Chemicals Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry is:
Johanna M. Blacquiere, MCIC
The University of Western Ontario
Johanna Blacquiere is an Associate Professor at Western, where she started her independent career in 2013. Her enthusiasm for research started as an undergraduate researcher with the Wild Toads under the supervision of Prof. Steve Westcott, and a summer position with Prof. Tom Baker. She developed invaluable skills working with Prof. Deryn Fogg for her PhD, and Prof. Jim Mayer for her NSERC PDF. Blacquiere’s independent research involves the design, and mechanistic elucidation, of transition metal catalysts for the low-waste synthesis of organic compounds. Her expertise is in cooperative homogeneous catalysis, in which ligands undergo reversible changes in protonation state or coordination mode to enhance catalyst performance. Blacquiere’s research program has been recognized with a number of awards, including a Western University Faculty Scholar Award (2024), and a Discovery Accelerator Supplement (2020). From 2019 to 2022 Blacquiere has served as the Student Recruitment Coordinator for the Inorganic Chemistry Exchange (ICE) program, and in 2022 she took on the role as National Coordinator.