The achievements recognized include groundbreaking discoveries about Earth system science, unlocking the codes that control human genetics, and using the characteristics of carbohydrates found inside cells to help combat disease.

NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prizes (master's and doctoral levels)
The NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prizes are awarded to the four most outstanding candidates in NSERC's postgraduate scholarships competition at the master's level, and to the most outstanding candidate in the NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarhips competition at the doctoral level. The prizes were established by Arthur McDonald, winner of the 2003 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, in memory of André Hamer, a very promising young scientist who died in 2003.
Each of the five winners receives $10,000 in addition to his or her scholarship.

Sébastien Loranger, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston
Cplc Dany Veillette, Rideau Hall © 2012 Bureau du secrétaire du gouverneur général du Canada

Sébastien Loranger's intriguing research focuses on using laser light with new materials to induce cooling. Such technology could eliminate the need for bulky coolers and fans driven by electricity, and lead to the further miniaturization of next-generation electronic devices and lasers.

Mr. Loranger's work is supervised by Raman Kashyap, professor in the Department of Engineering Physics and Department of Electrical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal.

Sébastien Loranger's research work
Normally, shining a light on an object makes it hotter because the light energy is absorbed and converted into heat. However, intriguing new research could lead to using light as a practical way of actually cooling devices such as electronics that currently require bulky thermoelectric coolers and a fan to stay cool.
Mr. Loranger, the winner of a master's level 2011 NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prize, hopes to develop cost-effective cooling technology using laser light, which could revolutionize everything from high power lasers to microelectronics.

The concept of laser cooling is not new, but has not previously been applied to mass-produced electronics. The 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for finding a way to trap and cool atoms with laser light. Shining particular wavelengths of laser light at atoms slows down their momentum, effectively cooling them. A similar technique can be applied to solid materials by adding vibrational energy to laser light, which then results in the material releasing more energy rather than absorbing it.
Mr. Loranger's work would open up new applications for laser cooling by using the technique with a common material such as ordinary glass. In addition to being a breakthrough in physics, this would open the door to numerous commercial applications and lead to considerable cost savings. Without the need for heavy thermoelectric coolers, it may be possible to miniaturize existing cooling systems by piping light in and out of strategic locations using fibre optics. It could also lead to a new class of fibre-optic lasers that are currently used in everything from scientific to military and medical settings.
Our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Loranger!

NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research - NEW
NSERC will introduce a new prize for doctoral students starting with the 2012 scholarships competition. The NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research will be awarded to an outstanding recipient of an NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship who best exemplifies interdisciplinary research. Preference will be given to a recipient who plans to pursue doctoral studies at a different university from the one that granted their most recent degree. The award was established by Gilles Brassard, winner of the 2009 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. The first winner of the NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research will be announced in 2013.

The winner will receive a $10,000 prize in addition to his or her Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
A full description of the NSERC prizes and winners can be found in the backgrounder.
NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports some 30,000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging about 2,000 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.