NSERC Atlantic Chairs for Inclusion in Science and Engineering (2023-)
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) is
expanding to address issues faced by a broader array of underrepresented groups. The inaugural NSERC
Chairs for Inclusion in Science and Engineering (CISE) pilot program in Atlantic Canada welcomes chairholders Dr. Svetlana Barkanova, a physicist at Memorial University of Newfoundland; Dr. Kevin Hewitt, a physicist at Dalhousie University; and Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie, an organic chemist at Cape Breton University. They will build upon the outstanding work of Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal during a transition period this fall. The three chairholders will work as a
team to improve equity, diversity and inclusion in the natural sciences and engineering ecosystem across the Atlantic region. Stay tuned here for an announcement of the launch of their initiatives, several of which build upon successful WISE Atlantic programs such as the Catalyze and Facilitate Partnerships program.
Visit
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsDetail-DetailNouvelles_eng.asp?ID=1415 for more information on their plans.
NSERC Atlantic Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (2011-2023)
Tamara Franz-Odendaal, Professor of Biology, Mount Saint Vincent University, and NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering – Atlantic Region
Dr Franz-Odendaal holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and completed her post-doctoral studies at Dalhousie University. She joined the Mount in 2006 as a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) University Faculty award recipient (2006-2011) and has since launched an active productive research program in the field of skeletal biology.
In 2011, Dr. Franz-Odendaal became the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the Atlantic Region (WISEatlantic). In this role, she works closely with the other four NSERC Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering to support women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields across Atlantic Canada, and to inspire girls to pursue careers in these areas. In 2013, she was the recipient of the Young investigators Award in Morphological Sciences by the American Association of Anatomists, and in 2015, she received the Mount’s Research Excellence Award for her outstanding contributions to the research community and research climate at the Mount.
