Announcing the winners of the Petro Canada-McMaster University Young Innovator Award

Dr. Dilyana Mincheva, Assistant Professor in Critical Media in the Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts, and Dr. Adrianne Lickers Xavier, acting Director of the Indigenous Studies Program are the 2020-21 recipients of the Petro Canada-McMaster University Young Innovator Award.  

The award recognizes the research achievements of an innovative scholar within the first eight years of their research career and provides funding support to enable the active participation of undergraduates in a research endeavour.  

“Collaboration is often the starting point for innovation,” says Lori Goff, Director of the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching. “It’s so important to bring students and instructors together to foster diverse perspectives and unique ideas. This award is a great example of our commitment to that at McMaster.” 

The Young Innovator Award provides an opportunity for researchers to think creatively about student participation in research activity and generates campus-wide recognition for innovative research achievement.  

A $250,000 endowment provided by Petro-Canada and a matching annual contribution from McMaster University’s Office of the Vice-President Research helps to finance the award and award winners each receive $23,000 to support a project to actively involve undergraduate students in their research.

The award was not issued in 2019-20, as a result, this year two recipients have been selected to receive the award.   

To learn more about the winners and their funded projects, please visit the Petro Canada-McMaster University Young Innovator Award webpage.