Drew Bennett, a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo, is this year’s winner of the $20,000 John Charles Polanyi Prize for Chemistry. Bennett’s research explores the use of computer simulations to produce physics-based “movies” of how individual molecules interact with each other.

The Canada Research Chair program, which is investing $300 million in Canadian researchers this year, recently announced new recipients and renewals for 2015. Renewals include Tucker Carrington, FCIC, of Queen’s University, CanadaResearch Chair in Computational Quantum Dynamics, and Douglas Stephan, FCIC, University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair in Catalysis and Materials.

University of Toronto chemical engineering professor Michael Sefton, FCIC, is the latest member of the United States Institute of Medicine (IOM), which is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences and advises policy makers on scientific and medical matters. Sefton is a pioneer in the area of tissueengineering and regenerative medicine.

Awards were presented at the Student Awards Banquet, held this past October at the 64th CanadianChemical EngineeringConference in Niagara Falls. Winners include:

  • SNC-Lavalin Plant Design Competition: 1st place Lakehead University; 2nd place University of Ottawa; 3rd place University of Waterloo.
  • Robert G. Auld Student Paper Competition: 1st place Ryan LaRue, McMaster University; 2nd place Manyi Zhou, University of Toronto; 3rd place Yunan Xu, University of Toronto.
  • Reg Friesen Student Oral Paper Competition: 1st place Philippe Kikongi, Université de Sherbrooke; 2nd place Justine Brodeur, École Polytechnique de Montréal.
  • Graduate Student Poster Competition: 1st place Na Re Ko, Concordia University; 2nd place Amjad El-Qanni, University of Calgary; 3rd place Jeffrey J. Sims, University of Ottawa.