LeSueur Memorial Award

2025 Recipient - Dr Josephine Hill, University of Calgary

Dr Josephine Hill is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering of the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. She received her education and training at the University of Waterloo (BASc and MASc) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD) and worked for two years at Surface Science Western at the University of Western Ontario between her graduate degrees. Dr Hill’s research is in catalysis with applications to partial upgrading, gasification, microwave treatment, and the conversion of solid waste materials, such as petroleum coke and biomass, into catalysts supports and activated carbon. She is currently the President of the Canadian Catalysis Foundation, the Chair of the Chemical Institute of Canada, and an Editor of Applied Catalysis A: General.

Award presentation and prize

The LeSueur Memorial Award is normally presented at the annual SCI Canada Awards Dinner, typically held in early April, where the winner will be expected to attend and deliver a short acceptance speech. The winner may be invited to present a lecture at this event and will also receive a plaque.

2024 Recipient - Dr Zhongxin Zhou, formerly Gilead

Throughout the 27 years working in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr Zhou and his teams have contributed to the commercial launches of 20 novel drug substances all over the world that are used in many drug products for the treatment of diseases that have saved millions of peoples’ lives around the world.

He has led and directed the R&D efforts of more than 200 drug substances for clinical development and commercial supplies. He led the planning, design, and construction of two laboratory buildings that have won Big Project Sustainability awards.

2023 Recipient - Mr Rupert Spence

Rupert Spence, Senior Scientific Laureate at DuPont, came to Canada in 1987 from the UK to complete his PhD in Chemistry at Dalhousie University. He held post-doctoral fellowships at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Guelph. Rupert began his industrial career in 1995 at Nova Chemicals where he developed a new catalyst technology. In 2002, he joined DuPont Canada where he leads global teams in technology development for many DuPont businesses. Chemical processes developed under Rupert's leadership operate commercially in Canada, the US, and Asia in Biomaterials, Crop Protection, Protective Fibers and Electronics Materials.

2022 Recipient - Dr Emily Cranston

Dr Emily Cranston, of the University of British Columbia, received the LeSueur Memorial Award in 2022.

Emily has adopted an innovative approach to address complex technical challenges. She has also been relentless in bridging pure technical concepts and industrial applications of cellulose based products including cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose micro- and macro-fibrils, and hydrogels.