University of Waterloo chemist Linda Nazar is receiving Canada's most prestigious award for non-medical research, the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, The Globe and Mail reports. The prize, presented at a ceremony in Ottawa on Wednesday, comes with C$1 million in extra federal research funding.
Dr Nazar, a university research professor in chemistry, has spent decades searching for materials that make batteries safer, more efficient and cheaper to produce at scale. She told the newspaper she had planned to study medicine until a first-year chemistry course captured her interest. The Globe notes that different uses need different solutions: lightweight batteries matter for vehicles, aviation and the fast-growing use of drones, while large storage systems for renewable energy depend more on capacity, safety and cost.
Source: The Globe and Mail