SCI/CIC awards honour contributions in chemical industry

21 December 2011

SCI's Canada International group and the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) will host their annual awards dinner in recognition of those who have made outstanding contributions to the chemical industry in March.

'SCI Canada and the CIC aim to reward excellence in the field of chemistry and the chemical industry,' states David Beckman, Chair of SCI Canada and President of Zeton, Inc. 'We accomplish this by presenting awards to individuals in industry and academic leaders in recognition of the achievements they have made in their field.'

The 2012 awards will be given to Sandy Marshall, LANXESS, winner of the Canada Medal; Richard Berry, CelluForce, winner of the Purvis Memorial Award; Robert Pelton, McMaster University, winner of the LeSueur Memorial Award; Theo van der Ven, McGill University, winner of the Kalev Pugi Award; and John van Leeuwen, EcoSynthetix, winner of the International Award. Representing a wide range of expertise, these recipients come from backgrounds in nanoparticles, bio-based products, and colloid chemistry. Further information on the award winners can be found attached.

The awards dinner will be preceded by the second annual afternoon seminar series, featuring leaders from industry on topics of 'Clean, Green and Sustainable' chemistry. With the SCI motto of 'where science meets business,' the speakers will focus on successes in the chemical industry. Introduced in 2011, the afternoon seminar will continue this year with the aim of providing a stimulating panel discussion along with valuable networking opportunities.

'Working together, SCI and the CIC continue to provide a place to view and discuss sustainable, green and clean technology,' says Maja Veljkovic, Chair of the CIC. Bernard West, former CIC Chair goes on to say that 'this seminar is the perfect venue and we look forward to an inspiring meeting.'

SCI Canada and the CIC continue to work towards bridging science and industry.

Registration and additional information can be found at www.cheminst.ca/sci_awards.

When: Seminar, 1:00 pm., dinner, 6:00 pm., March 29, 2012
Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 370 King St W, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Please address any questions or concerns to:

Bobbijo Sawchyn Chemical Institute of Canada
T: (613) 232-6252, ext. 226. E: bsawchyn@cheminst.ca

SCI Canada/CIC Award Winners for 2012:

Sandy Marshall, President and Managing Director for LANXESS in Canada, has been active, working with government, agriculture and industry to bring the bio-based and traditional chemistry sectors together to build an effective Biohybrid-Chemistry cluster in Canada. For the last year or more, Sandy has been the leading industry CEO in a team of players working to bring new investment to the Sarnia cluster, the first fruits of which effort is the announcement by BioAmber of an $80 million first phase investment in a bio-based succinic acid plant in Sarnia, to be commissioned in 2013. Sandy was also instrumental in bringing LANXESS’s butyl rubber global R&D centre to London Ontario.
Richard Berry, is Chief Technology Officer for CelluForce, a recently established joint venture between FPInnovations and Domtar Inc., which is focused on the manufacture and commercialisation of nanocrystalline cellulose – a recyclable, non-toxic and renewable nano-material extracted from trees. Prior to joining CelluForce, Dr Berry was the manager of the Chemical Pulping Program and coordinator of the nanotechnology initiative at FPInnovations. While at Paprican, which he joined in 1981, he developed significant pulping technology and was able to oversee the industrial application of his inventions.
Dr Robert Pelton, Canada Research Chair in Interfacial Technologies in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University, invented poly-NIPAM microgels, which are now being studied by his and many research groups in a wide range of applications, including glucose sensing, controlled drug release and bioactive papers. More recently, Dr Pelton has been doing research on the development of specialty polymers for nanoparticle flotation, wet adhesion to cellulose and as fillers for high-quality papers.
Dr Theo van der Ven, Paprican/FP Innovations NSERC Industrial Chair at Mc Gill and Director of the NSERC Green Fibre Network and the FQRNT Centre for Self Assembled Chemical Structures, is widely recognised as a world expert in the application of colloid chemistry to papermaking, leading to many enhancements in the technology and economic returns of the industry. His many years of research as a Paprican Research Professor at McGill, and more recently as an NSERC chaired professor, have allowed him to maximise his contribution to both academic and industrial communities, while demonstrating a flair for managing large teams and research programmes.
John van Leeuwen is the co-founder (1996), Chairman and CEO of EcoSynthetix, a green chemicals company, specialising in bio-materials, based in Canada, with a Centre of Innovation that opened this year in Burlington. EcoSynthetix, with production in Europe and USA, is well known for its innovative, high performance, low cost, bio-latex binders for the paper industry, with an active pipeline of further green products, plans to manufacture in Canada. The company completed a $100 million IPO in August 2011.

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