Achievers
Dr. Suresh Narine named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40
Dr. Suresh Narine, director of the Trent University Centre for Biomaterials Research and professor of Physics & Astronomy and Chemistry at Trent University, is one of "Canada's Top 40 under 40" for 2011, heralds a national report in the Globe and Mail, Thursday, April 28.
A Trent University alumnus, Professor Narine, originally from Guyana, is an internationally-renowned expert in biomaterials, whose work focuses on the utilisation of plant oils to create "environmentally-friendly" materials such as polymers, lubricants, adhesives and drug delivery matrices for everyday use. He is the author of two seminal textbooks in the area of lipid crystallization, and co-author of numerous scientific publications and patents.
"I had an opportunity to meet and learn about the other 39 recipients of this award, and am overwhelmingly humbled to be included in such an accomplished group," said Prof. Narine. "I am also deeply honoured to be so recognized in Canada - a country which seems to have equally adopted me as I have adopted it. I believe that my being chosen as one of the award recipients is an endorsement of the value of global citizenship and of the kind of multi-stakeholder approaches to harnessing science for sustainable development that I have been involved with throughout my career. I feel privileged to enjoy this type of recognition in Canada whilst still being actively committed to and involved in the promulgation of science and technology solutions for development in my home country of Guyana."
At Trent University in February 2010, Prof. Narine was awarded a $1.25 million Ontario Research Chair in Green Chemistry and Engineering from the Council of Ontario Universities, in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. In November of that same year, he was awarded a $3 million senior industrial research chair in biomaterials from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in partnership with Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. and the Grain Farmers of Ontario.
Prof. Narine completed both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. at Trent University in Chemistry and Physics, and his Ph.D. in Food Science at the University of Guelph. After graduating and working as a research scientist with M&M Mars in New Jersey, Prof. Narine was recruited to the University of Alberta, appointed professor and named Alberta Value Added Corporation (AVAC) research chair by the age of 27. He went on to become the founding director of the Alberta Lipid Utilization Research Program. In 2005, he was awarded the prestigious Growing Alberta Leadership Award for Innovation. In 2006, he was honoured by his alma mater with the Trent University Distinguished Alumni award.
In his native Guyana in 2005, Prof. Narine accepted a presidential appointment as the director of Guyana's Institute of Applied Science and Technology. There he introduced biodiesel technology and established a commercially-viable biodiesel production facility in the Northwest District of Guyana - a boost to Guyana's development - creating employment for 180 people. The Institute of Applied Science and Technology is now, six years later, among the leading applied science institutes in the region. Prof. Narine was recognized by the Guyanese Diaspora in Canada for his efforts, with the Special Achievement Guyana/Canada Award in 2007. Prof. Narine continues his volunteer work with the institution today.
In his current position at Trent University as the director of the Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research, Prof. Narine's work involves the research and commercialization of green chemistry and engineering while building networks with other researchers and research bodies in Canada and abroad, including industry and non-governmental organizations. Prof. Narine contributes to public understanding and policy development in the area of toxics reduction and trains highly qualified personnel while teaching undergraduate and graduate students.
Professor Narine is also the proud father of ten year old triplets – Vandana, Rudra and Geetanjali.
The Top 40 under 40 awards recognize Canada's most innovative and visionary young leaders. Recipients are selected for their outstanding vision and leadership, innovation and achievement, impact, community involvement and development strategy. Past winners of the Top 40 under 40 now represent a Who's Who of leaders in business, science and social organizations.
him two more awards
By Adit Kumar
Guyanese born Dr. Mohamed Jamal Deen, Professor and Senior Canada Research Chair in Information Technology and Director of the Micro- and Nano-Systems laboratory at McMaster University has copped another two awards recently, adding to his already long list of stellar achievements.
Last Sunday he was presented with the 2011 Electronics and Photonics Division (EPD) Award from the Electrochemical Society. The presentation was made at the Montreal Convention Center/The Palais des Congrès de Montréal at the 219th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Montréal, Canada. The convention is currently in progress and will conclude on Friday, May 6.
And on Monday, May 9, Dr Deen will receive the 2011 IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) Canada Reginald Aubrey Fessenden Silver Medal for his "pioneering contributions in electronics and optoelectronics for communications." This award will be presented at the Awards Banquet at the 24th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE 2011) to be held in Niagara Falls, Ontario between May 8 and 11, 2011.
The EPD award recognizes Dr Deen's "pioneering contributions to noise and physics-based modeling of semiconductor devices and innovations in experiments." This award was established in 1968 to encourage excellence and outstanding technical contributions in the fields of electronics and photonics research and science. Dr. Deen becomes the first Canadian to win both the Electronics and Photonics Division and the Dielectric Science and Technology Division award (in 2002) from the Electrochemical Society.
The Electrochemical Society, founded in 1902 as "an international organization concerned with a broad range of phenomena relating to electrochemical and solid-state science and technology" is the largest and oldest such Society in the world. As stated in the Society's history center, the "charter members included a number of distinguished chemists and electrochemists" such as the founder of Dow Chemical Company (H.H. Dow) and the inventor of the Hall process for the manufacture of aluminum. A year after the society was founded, in 1903, Thomas A. Edison became a Member and he enjoyed membership for 28 years. Edison, a true technological genius, patented more than 1000 inventions including the incandescent electric lamp, the phonograph and the motion picture projector."
"Over the years, the Society's membership has included many other distinguished scientists and engineers, including several Nobel laureates."
Dr. Deen was elected a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society (the highest grade of membership), in 2004.
Dr. Deen is also a Fellow of IEEE (the highest grade of membership). The IEEE is the world's largest professional society with over 400,000 members in more than 160 countries. The IEEE society is "dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. The IEEE and its members inspire a global community through IEEE's highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities." IEEE Canada is the "Canadian arm of IEEE as well as the constituent society of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) for the technical fields of electrical, electronics, and computer engineering". Each year, IEEE Canada highlights and recognizes Canadian engineering excellence and achievements through its competitive awards. In particular, IEEE Canada awards the R.A. Fessenden silver medal to "outstanding Canadian engineers recognized for their important contributions to the field of telecommunications engineering."
The brilliant scholar started his university career on a winning note when he graduated from the University of Guyana with a BSc degree winning both the Chancellor's Medal as the second ranked student and the Dr. Adler's Prize as the first ranked mathematics student. He then proceeded to do graduate work at Case Western Reserve University completing both his Masters and Doctoral degrees there. His doctoral work on designing and modeling of a new Raman spectrometer for dynamic temperature measurements and combustion optimization in rocket and jet engines, was sponsored and used by NASA, Cleveland, USA. For his graduate work, he was a Fulbright-LASPAU Scholar and an American Vacuum Society Scholar. His research record includes 430 peer-reviewed articles, seven best paper awards and six patents that were used in industry.
Dr. Deen's peers have elected him to Fellow status in eight national academies and professional organizations, including Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) - The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada – which is the highest honor for academics and scholars in Canada; a Fellow of the American Physical Society (FAPS); a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (FIEEE); and an Honorary Member of the World Innovation Foundation – the Foundation's highest honor. His other awards include the 2002 Callinan Award from the Electrochemical Society; a Humboldt Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation, Germany, in 2006; the Eadie Medal from The Royal Society of Canada in 2008.
Professor Jamal Deen currently lives in Dundas, Ontario with his wife Meena and their three sons, Arif, Imran and Tariq.