A provincial commitment of $42 million to celebrate Ontario's research excellence has resulted in major announcements from three new awards programs. The funding was provided in the 2006 Budget to acknowledge excellence in innovation, personal achievement and overall career achievement. The latter (Summit Awards) are administered by MaRS Discovery District, which hosted the April 24th event.
"Ontario is home to world class research and researchers and they receive offers every day to leave the province so we need to celebrate them," says MPP John Wilkinson, parliamentary assistant to the minister of research and innovation.
The Catalyst Awards are worth $250,000 each while the Discovery Awards provide between $250,000 and $500,000. The Summit Awards are worth up to $5 million, with funding split between the province and the relevant institution.
| Premier's Catalyst Awards for excellence in innovation |
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Best Young Innovator | Parham Aarabi | Toronto | Innovator of the Year | En-Hiu Yang | Waterloo | Lifetime Achievement in Innovation | Savvas Chamberlain | Waterloo | Start-up Company with the Best Innovation | Tessonics Inc | Windsor | Company with the Best Innovation | Research In Motion | Waterloo |
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| Premier's Discovery Awards for individual research achievement |
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Life Sciences and Medicine | Spencer C.H. Barrett | Univ of Toronto | Natural Sciences and Engineering | Andreas Mandelis | Univ of Toronto | Social Sciences and Humanities | Regna Darnell | Univ of Western Ontario | Innovation Leadership | Aaron Fenster | Robarts Research Institute |
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John E. Dick | University Health Network | Tak Mak | Princess Margaret Hospital, University Health Network | Anthony J. Pawson | Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital | Peter St George-Hyslop | Univ of Toronto and University Health Network |
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