Success Stories - Golden Glory for NRC Award-winners

June 20, 2011 — Ottawa, Ontario

It was a golden moment for each of the NRC's 54 award-winning staff members.

The NRC Outstanding Achievement Awards were presented Monday night in a special ceremony that was themed to shine a small glow of "Olympic glory" upon our gold-standard champions.

The recurring theme of "Faster, Higher, Stronger" wove through the ceremony, highlighting how the achievements of the award-winning scientists, engineers and researchers pushes the envelope on innovation in Canada.

Playing off of the Olympics and sports theme, the honourees stepped up onto a raised podium amid musical fanfare as President John McDougall placed a NRC "gold medal" around their neck. Their portfolio vice-president then presented them with a personalized acrylic award. Each award group or individual was also showcased in a short video describing their success story.

Left to right: Carl Ross, Raphael Galea, John McDougall, Walter Davidson

"Your hard work and the resulting success that we celebrate here tonight, are not only a source of pride, but a source of greater prosperity, of better quality of life, of improved health, and of healthier environments for your fellow Canadians," McDougall told the award-winners in his address.

"Tonight we feel great pride as we recap and honour each of your award-winning performances – faster, higher strong. Faster vaccine development... Higher return on research investment in photonics... Stronger market opportunities for Canadian lumber... and there are so many more examples we see tonight."

The guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Jon Kolb, Director of Sport Science, Medicine and Innovation for Canada's Own the Podium program. A notable researcher in his own right, Kolb explained the scientific and strategic approach that Own the Podium took in order to focus on improving the outcomes of Canadian athletes at the Olympics and other world championship events.

He stepped through the mindset shift, resource allocation changes, and collaborations formed that transformed the winning results of Canadian athletes, and inspired a nation. He also examined some commonalities between Own the Podium's approach and the NRC's new strategic choices with the same focus on outcomes.

"The success of NRC's new strategy will be defined by the individual program and team victories that bolster industries on behalf of Canadians. Each of you here tonight represent your own victory stories," McDougall told the crowd.

"You challenge us to faster outcomes. You inspire us to greater heights. You strengthen us with your own dedication and resolve. You help make NRC and Canada, faster, higher and strong as we strive to top the world podium for innovation."

The night marked the launch of new awards categories, having been revitalized over the past year by Human Resources with the involvement of staff from across the organization. The new awards categories focus on outcomes and value to Canadians and align with our mission, vision and values.

In total, 52 NRC staff members stepped atop the make-shift podium. Some were individual award-winners and some were members of award-winning groups.

Two Researchers Emeritus were also presented with their medallions, signifying their special post-retirement status. Dr. Marianna Sikorska and Dr. Malcolm Perry continue to be active contributors at NRC-IBS in Ottawa, even after formally retiring over the past year. Stay tuned for future Zone feature stories on Dr. Sikorska and Dr. Perry.