Allen Pratt Memorial Award for Community Service

This award recognizes outstanding service and dedication to the CLS and Canadian Synchrotron community by a current user (or team of users) who has (have) made significant contributions to the CLS community.

Nominations will open for this award again in spring 2025.

The Allen Pratt Award for Synchrotron Community Service commemorates the contributions that Dr. Pratt (1959 - 2013) made to the Canadian Synchrotron radiation community. Dr. Pratt, in addition to being the first general user of the CLS, made important contributions to the development of the Canadian synchrotron community. He approached his work with alacrity and was always helpful to new users and colleagues. 
 
This award recognizes outstanding service and dedication to the CLS and Canadian Synchrotron community by a current user (or team of users) who has (have) made significant contributions to the CLS community. Previous award winners represent some of the most important people in the Canadian Synchrotron community, who have dedicated significant time and energy to the development of synchrotron science in Canada and to the development of the CLS. The Allen Pratt Award is awarded every year.

Examples of community service that this award recognizes include:

  • Contributions to the development/ teaching/ mentorship of new and/or current synchrotron users;
  • Development of the synchrotron/CLS community and communication among academic, industrial and/or government users;
  • Voluntary participation in synchrotron and CLS community organizations; and
  • The development of new CLS-based infrastructure or techniques and the cultivation of the research community that utilizes these facilities.

Note: Nominations must be for current contributions to the CLS community, in areas such as those listed.

Award

  • The award recipient will be invited to present at our next CLS Annual Users' Meeting (AUM) with travel (if required) expenses paid and will receive a certificate of award.

Eligibility Criteria

The following criteria must be met for a candidate to be eligible for this award:

  • The candidate must be an active CLS user at the time of the nomination;
  • The candidate must have published results on data obtained from the CLS;
  • The candidate cannot be an employee of the CLS or a member of the CLS Board of Directors, Users’ Executive Committee, Science Advisory Committee, or Machine Advisory (or other affiliated committee), and is not eligible for consideration until a period of two (2) years has elapsed since their employment or membership.

Please forward the following material to awards@lightsource.ca clearly stating in the subject line "Allen Pratt Award".

  • Nomination letters: Each nomination will consist of a letter up-to three pages in length describing the contributions made by the nominee to the CLS and Canadian Synchrotron Radiation User community. Any member of the CLS user community can submit a signed letter of nomination; however, self-nominations will not be accepted.
  • A short biography of the nominee (100 words).

Selection of the awardee will be based upon demonstrated contributions to the synchrotron community as outlined in the letter of nomination. An individual cannot receive this award more than once, though there is no limit to the number of times an applicant can be nominated (if unsuccessful in prior cycles). An award may not be awarded in certain years if a user having contributed significantly to the community has not been nominated.

 

2024 - Stefan Kycia, University of Guelph
2023 - Ingrid Pickering, University of Saskatchewan
2022 - Kirk Michaelian, Natural Resources Canada
Dr. Kirk Michaelian was a research scientist for Natural Resources Canada for 37 years and has made significant contributions to science over this time. He passed away peacefully on April 4, 2022 at 75 years of age. The Canadian Light Source (CLS) has posthumously honoured Dr. Michaelian with the 2021 Allen Pratt award, which recognizes outstanding service and dedication to the CLS and the Canadian Synchrotron community. Dr. Kirk Michaelian’s history with the CLS predates the actual building of the facility. Kirk was a member of the CISR (Canadian Institute of Synchrotron Radiation) and recognized early the potential for performing synchrotron photoacoustic spectroscopy on solid samples. Kirk was an original beamline team member for the mid-IR beamline and contributed further to the CLS by serving as Chair on its User’s Advisory Committee. During this period Kirk was also performing novel transmission and photoacoustic experiments using coherent synchrotron radiation on the far-IR beamline at the CLS. In retirement from Natural Resources Canada, Kirk was honoured with a CLS Fellow award – the first one offered to a non-employee. Kirk’s enthusiasm and expertise contributed greatly to the success of the CLS and he enriched the lives of all who knew him.
2021 - Alexander Moewes, University of Saskatchewan
Alex Moewes is a professor of Physics and Engineering Physics at the University of Saskatchewan and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Materials Science with Synchrotron Radiation.  He received his MSc and PhD at the University of Hamburg before holding a postdoctoral fellowship at Tulane University and an Assistant Professorship at Louisiana State University.  Alex subsequently moved to the University of Saskatchewan in 2003 and began the development of the REIXS beamline, where he is a beamteam leader.  His research encompasses many areas of materials science, including the study of new materials for light emitting diodes, spintronics, and biomaterials.
2020 - No nominations were received for the award this year.
2019 - No nominations were received for the award this year.
2018 – T.K. Sham, University of Western Ontario
Professor TK Sham has devoted himself generously to help design, build and promote powerful scientific national facilities in both Madison WI and Saskatoon SK. TK was Scientific Director of the extremely productive CSRF in Madison for eight years from 1997-2005, while simultaneously being a core member of the CISR (Canadian Institute for Synchrotron Radiation) in the 1990s which led to the initial $150M funding of the CLS in 1998. As Beamline leader of three CLS beamlines (VLS-PGM, SGM and SXRMB) he has nurtured their development and growth to world class status and productivity. TK can rightly claim to be a major part of the success of the CLS and his cooperative spirit continues to influence the modern culture of the CLS.
2017 – Mirek Cygler, University of Saskatchewan
Professor Miroslaw Cygler was one of the founders of the Canadian Macromolecular Crystallography Facility (CMCF) initiative during the early days of the CLS and currently serves as the CMCF beam Team Leader. He joined the Department of Biochemistry, University of Saskatchewan in 2011 as Canada Research Chair in Molecular Medicine Using Synchrotron Light. Prior to joining the University of Saskatchewan Mirek was the Principal Research Officer and Head of the Macromolecular Research Group at the NRCs Biotechnology Research Institute in Montreal, which he established. Most recently, Mirek, in collaboration with other Beamline Team members, has secured funding for the upgrade of the CMCF-ID Beamline. This CFI project is a major upgrade of the beamline replacing the undulator, monochromator and three mirrors and upgrading the detector to an Eiger 9M. Mirek's contributions to the CMCF beamline since its inception are a major reason behind its success and that of the CLS.

2016 – Adam Hitchcock, McMaster University

G. Michael Bancroft PhD and Masters Thesis Awards

The CLS places a high value on student training. Our facility offers graduate students access to world-class facilities, and the opportunity to interact with scientific colleagues from around the globe. Many of these students are expected to become the scientific leaders of tomorrow.

Each year, the CLS will present the G. Michael Bancroft PhD Thesis Award to the PhD thesis judged to be the best published in the last calendar year and (new in 2019, onward) the G. Michael Bancroft Masters Thesis Award to the Masters thesis judged to be the best published in the last calendar year. 

Nominations will open in spring 2025 for these two awards for theses published in 2024.

G. Michael ‘Mike’ Bancroft was the Scientific Director of the Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility (CSRF) in Madison, WI from 1978-1999, and Executive Director and Director of Research of the CLS from 1999-2001 and 2000-2004, respectively, during the crucial development years of the facility. He is widely acknowledged as the driving force behind the creation of Canada’s national synchrotron facility. He received the CIC Montreal Medal in 2002, was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003 and is currently Professor Emeritus at The University of Western Ontario.

Award

The PhD award consists of a certificate and a cash prize of $1,000 CAD, plus up to $2,000 CAD for travel expenses (if applicable) to a conference of their choice (pre-approved by the CLS).  The Masters award consists of a certificate and a cash prize of $500 CAD.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the award, you must:

  • Be registered as a CLS user
  • Completed a PhD or Masters thesis in the relevant award year. The copyright date on the thesis will be used to determine the year of eligibility. 
  • Have obtained data using one or several CLS beamlines. Please include the following Acknowledgement when submitting or presenting results from the CLS: 

Applications will be accepted either from the candidate or their supervisor. Please send the following application material to awards@lightsource.ca with either Bancroft Award (PhD) or Bancroft Award (Masters) in the subject line during the official call for nominations.

  • A letter from the candidate (maximum 2 pages) addressing the evaluation criteria listed below.
  • A copy of the thesis. This could be an attachment to an email (usually in pdf format), or a mailed copy (on a disc, or in paper format). Electronic versions are preferred.
  • A letter of recommendation from the thesis supervisor or another qualified colleague (maximum 2 pages) commenting on the specific role the candidate played in the work, and the impact of the work.
  • A copy of the candidate’s CV.

Review Criteria

All theses will be evaluated by a Review Committee, using the following three criteria:

  • The quality of the scientific research within the context of the field.
  • The importance of synchrotron radiation from the CLS for answering the scientific questions posed.
  • The quality and capability of the candidate based on their CV and the letter of recommendation.

2023 PhD Thesis - Pranay Shrestha, University of Toronto
2023 Masters Thesis - Lucas Korol, University of Saskatchewan
2022 PhD Thesis - Jiarui Li, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2022 PhD Thesis - Itai Sharon, McGill University
2021 PhD Thesis - Tyler Morhart, University of Saskatchewan
2021 Masters Thesis - Kevin Krause, University of Toronto
2020 PhD Thesis - Justin Andrews, Texas A&M University
2020 Masters Thesis - Naman Kumar Gupta, University of Waterloo
2019 PhD Thesis - Nazanin Samadi, University of Saskatchewan
2019 Masters Thesis - No nominations were recieved for this award
2018 - (Joint) Brett Leedahl, University of Saskatchewan; Janice Reimer, McGill University
2017 - Jongmin Lee, University of Toronto
2016 - Neil Johnson, University of Saskatchewan
2015 – Andrew Achkar, University of Waterloo
2014 – Michelle (Tonkin) Parker, University of British Columbia
2013 – Riccardo Comin, University of British Columbia
2012 – Lijia Liu, Western University 
2011 – Arathi Padmanabhan, University of Windsor
2010 – Adam Gillespie, University of Saskatchewan
2009 – Jesse Smith, University of Ottawa
2008 – Edwige Otero, University of Saskatchewan

User Support Award

The Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) gives an award every year to a Canadian Light Source (CLS) staff member who best exemplifies user support and has made outstanding contributions to the success of research of CLS users.

Nominations for this award are collected from comments submitted in User Experience Surveys in the relevant year or can be submitted via specific nomination letters. This award is typically announced at our Annual Users' Meeting.

The UEC gives an award every year to a CLS staff member who best exemplifies user support and has made outstanding contributions to the success of research of CLS users. The award recognizes efforts to conduct and assist in important technical or scientific accomplishments in synchrotron-radiation based science but also efforts to foster collaboration, promote innovative solutions, improve efficiencies in beamline and beamtime management and generally to help the facility be a leading centre of excellence in synchrotron science.

Award

  • The recipient will receive a cash prize of $500 CAD.

Sponsored by Johnson Ultravac Inc., 2011–2016
Sponsored by AECOM, 2007–2010

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be a CLSI employee.

We encourage Users to nominate any CLS staff member (e.g. beamline scientist, support staff, floor coordinator, etc.) who, in your opinion, has gone above and beyond their job description to make your visit more productive and pleasant. In order to nominate a CLS employee for the User Support Award - please provide the context for your nomination in the End of Run survey or in a separate letter or message submitted to awards@lightsource.ca. (please note "User Support Award" in the subject line.

The recipient is decided based on the recommendation of a 3 member sub-committee of the UEC. The selection of the recipient is based on the number and/or quality of nominations and an evaluation by the sub-committee of the recipients’ user support activities. If the sub-committee unanimously agrees on the candidate, only a confirmation of the selection is requested from other members of the UEC.  Otherwise, a vote of the UEC determines the recipient.

2023 - Lucia Zuin (VLS-PGM)
2022 - Adam Webb (BMIT)
2021 – Stuart Read (Mid IR)
2020 – Ronny Sutarto (REIXS)
2019 – Ning Chen (HXMA)
2018 – Shaun Labiuk (CMCF)
2017 – Peter Blanchard (VESPERS)
2016 – Yongfeng Hu (SXRMB)
2015 – Ning Chen (HXMA)
2014 – George Belev (BMIT)
2013 – Jillayne Neufeld (User Services Office)
2012 – Jian Wang (SM)
2011 – George Belev (BMIT)
2010 – Brant Billinghurst (Far-IR)
2009 – Lucia Zuin (VLS-PGM)
2008 – Tom Regier (SGM)
2007 – Lavina Carter (User's Office)

Early Career Investigator Excellence Award

The Early Career Investigator Excellence Award shall be bestowed upon an individual who is an early-career researcher.

Nominations will open for this award again in spring 2025.

The recipient will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $500 CAD, plus will be invited to provide a talk at either the CLS Annual User Meeting (AUM), or the CLS (the CLS will pay for travel expenses, if travel is required).

Eligibility Criteria

The following criteria must be met for a candidate to be eligible for this award:

  • A candidate for the award must have received their first faculty appointment within the last 5 years;
  • The candidate must be an active, CLS user at the time of nomination;
  • The candidate must have published results based on data obtained from the CLS;
  • The candidate cannot be a member of the CLS Board of Directors, Users’ Executive Committee, Science Advisory Committee, or Machine Advisory (or other affiliated committee), and is not eligible for consideration until a period of two (2) years has elapsed since their membership.

  • Nomination letters: Any member of the CLS user community can submit a signed letter of nomination; however, self-nominations will not be accepted. A nomination package should be comprised of two (2) letters of nomination no more than three pages in length describing the scientific contributions made by the nominee. The nomination letters must clearly address the role the CLS has played in the researcher’s body of work. In addition, the letters must clearly describe the role the nominee played in any group work.
  • A list of all the nominee’s publications emanating from work at the CLS.
  • A current curriculum vitae that includes a list of all publications.
  • A short biography of the nominee (100 words).

Nominations can be submitted to awards@lightsource.ca with "Young Investigator Award" in the subject line during the official call for nominations.

Selection of the awardee will be based solely upon the information described above. An individual cannot receive this award more than once, though there is no limit to the number of times an applicant can be nominated (if unsuccessful in prior cycles). An award may not be awarded in certain years if a user having contributed significantly to the community has not been nominated. The Users' Executive Committee reserves the right to not designate an awardee if the quality or number of nominations is deemed insufficient. Young Investigator award website.

The recipient of the award is obliged to present a lecture to the synchrotron community at either the CLS AUM or at the CLS in their area of research. The travel (if applicable) must be completed within 12 months of receipt of the award and eligible to receive travel reimbursement up to $2000 CAD (in accordance with CLS travel guidelines). The lecture may relate to the citation of the award, or to current activity.

2024 - Gaixia Zhang, École de Technologie Supérieure
2023 - ChungHyuk Lee, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 - Amira Abdelrasoul, University of Saskatchewan
2021 - Haotian Wang, Rice University
2020 - Robert Green, University of Saskatchewan
2019 - Julie Cosmidis, Pennsylvania State University
2018 - Jean-Philippe Julien, University of Toronto
2017 – Riccardo Comin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2016 - Martin Obst, University of Bayreuth (Sponsored by VAT, Incorporated)