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    Nobel Laureates share their thoughts on research success

    Nobel Laureates share their thoughts on research success

    A sold-out crowd packed Queen鈥檚 University鈥檚 Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts for the rare opportunity to hear聽two Nobel Laureates discuss their roads to research success, together with Canada鈥檚 Chief Science Advisor聽Mona Nemer, and award-winning journalist and author Andr茅 Picard.

    Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie, who was awarded the prize for chemistry in 2008, visited Queen鈥檚 as part of the first-ever Canadian tour of the聽. Organized by Nobel Media, in partnership with biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, the NPII is an international outreach program striving to connect Nobel Laureates with scientific and student communities at universities and research centres worldwide.

    鈥淲e are honoured to host the Nobel Inspiration Initiative and I鈥檓 excited to know that among our live audience and聽viewers online, we have potential future Nobel Prize Laureates who will be responsible for discoveries that make our world a better place,鈥 says Patrick Deane, Queen鈥檚 Principal and Vice-Chancellor, during his opening remarks. 鈥淎t Queen鈥檚, we believe in the fundamental value of research and want to create an environment where researchers can push boundaries, test limits, fail safely and take risks to achieve the kind of success talked about here today.鈥

    Queen's Principal Patrick Deane in conversation with Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie
    Queen's Principal Patrick Deane in conversation with Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie

    Picard moderated the engaging and often humorous 90-minute dialogue, which touched on the guests鈥 own research journeys, and topics ranging from basic research, gender imbalance in science fields, commercialization, and public trust in scientists. Richard Reznick, Dean of the Queen鈥檚 Faculty of Health Sciences, first introduced Picard and Chalfie, who spoke one-on-one before Dr. Nemer and Queen鈥檚 own Nobel Laureate, Arthur B. McDonald, joined in for expanded discussion and an audience Q&A session.

    鈥淭he Nobel Prize doesn鈥檛 necessarily go to the smartest scientist or the most productive, or the one with the biggest group or most published papers; it goes, in my opinion, to scientists who do things that change the way we do science or we think about the world,鈥 says Dr. Chalfie. 鈥淔urthermore, most people don鈥檛 sit up at night thinking,聽How am I going to win a prize?聽The reward for many of us is in the discovery.鈥

    Dr. McDonald adds: 鈥淭he Nobel Prize is the icing on the cake. The real victory is in the breakthrough.鈥

    成人大片's Nobel Laureate Arthur B. McDonald meets with audience members following the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative public discussion
    成人大片's Nobel Laureate Arthur B. McDonald meets with audience members following the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative public discussion

    The panelists spoke at length about the formative years of their careers, discussing early obstacles. Dr. Chalfie brought up an early-career project that did not work out and drove him to abandon the field temporarily, which stood in contrast to part of the NPII public event鈥檚 title,聽Failure, persistence and joy: finding the right balance for research success.

    鈥淚 was very fortunate to get back into it,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hen I experienced this early disappointment鈥 I didn鈥檛 feel I should ask people for help. I didn鈥檛 have people telling me that the first time you do things, you鈥檙e going to fail. Persistence has to be coupled with mentorship and support.鈥

    As part of the day-long NPII event, Dr. Chalfie sat with some of Queen鈥檚 most promising graduate and post-doctoral students, and early-career researchers, prior to the public dialogue for an exclusive roundtable discussion about success and failure at the research frontier. He also toured two cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary research and learning spaces on campus 鈥 the聽Beaty Water Research Centre听补苍诲听Ingenuity Labs听补迟听newly-opened Mitchell Hall聽鈥 meeting with graduate and post-doctoral students, staff, and faculty.

    During the public conversation, Picard posed the issue of the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields to the panelists for their comments.

    鈥淚鈥檓 uplifted when I look at the audience today and see so many young people,鈥 says Dr. Nemer. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking at the many women in the audience and I want you all to know there is a place for you in these fields. Don鈥檛 let anyone stop you.鈥

    Canada's Chief Science Advisor Mona Nemer speaks with audience members following the public discussion
    Canada's Chief Science Advisor Mona Nemer speaks with audience members following the public discussion

    Dr. McDonald agreed, stating that his field 鈥 physics鈥斺渘eeds a revolution of women in the discipline鈥. He also urged current students to try a variety of things while in university to discover where their passions may lie.

    鈥淪cience is fun. It鈥檚 an adventure,鈥 he says. 鈥淓mbrace it!鈥

    The event coincides with the launch of a聽brand new website聽highlighting Queen鈥檚 University鈥檚 vast complement of research pursuits and achievements. The site tells the stories behind research happening right here at Queen鈥檚 and highlights how research affects our lives and helps to shape our collective knowledge about the world.

    Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative at 成人大片

    Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative at 成人大片

    The path to research success includes many ups and downs and can take you to unexpected places. On September 25th, 2019, Queen鈥檚 University hosted the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative, featuring Martin Chalfie, 2008 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. In a public dialogue moderated by preeminent journalist, Andr茅 Picard, Dr. Chalfie was joined by Queen鈥檚 researcher Dr. Arthur McDonald, 2015 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and Dr. Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor to the Government of Canada, to discuss the path to the Nobel Prize and research success. The event provided a unique and exclusive opportunity for students, researchers, and community members to interact with some of the most recognized members of the international research community.

    Students demonstrated various robotics projects for Dr. Chalfie during his tour of the new Ingenuity Labs space in Mitchell Hall

    Students demonstrated various robotics projects for Dr. Martin Chalfie during his tour of the new Ingenuity Labs space in Mitchell Hall

    Students, faculty, and staff also toured Dr. Martin Chalfie through cutting-edge new laboratory spaces at the Beaty Water Research Centre

    Students, faculty, and staff also toured Dr. Martin Chalfie through cutting-edge new laboratory spaces at the Beaty Water Research Centre

    Following the tours, Dr. Martin Chalfie met with a group of 成人大片 graduate students for an exclusive roundtable discussion on "success and failure at the research frontier"

    Following the tours, Dr. Martin Chalfie met with a group of Queen's graduate students for an exclusive roundtable discussion on "success and failure at the research frontier"

    Acclaimed journalist and author Andr茅 Picard (left) interviews Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie during the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative event at 成人大片 University

    Acclaimed journalist and author Andr茅 Picard interviews Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie during the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative event at 成人大片

    Following the one-on-one chat, Andr茅 Picard and  Martin Chalfie were joined on stage by Canada's Chief Science Advisor Mona Nemer, and 成人大片 University's own Nobel Laureate, Arthur B. McDonald

    Following the one-on-one chat, Andr茅 Picard and聽 Martin Chalfie were joined on stage by Canada's Chief Science Advisor Mona Nemer, and 成人大片's own Nobel Laureate, Arthur B. McDonald

    Dr. Martin Chalfie met with groups of excited audience members following the public discussion

    Dr. Martin Chalfie met with groups of excited audience members following the public discussion

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    The neutrino breakthrough

    Science journalist Ivan Semeniuk retraces the history of Canada鈥檚 Nobel Prize-winning physics experiment led by Queen's researcher Arthur McDonald.

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    A Nobel Prize in Physics for Arthur B. McDonald

    An interest in mechanics led Queen's researcher Arthur McDonald, the 2015 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, to study the universe on a fundamental level, through physics.

    Centres and Institutes

    Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Institute

    Core research: 

    The Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute is a national hub for astroparticle physics research, uniting researchers, theorists, and technical experts within one organization.

    Queen鈥檚 University led 13 Canadian institutions in creating the centre鈥檚 predecessor organization in 2015. The McDonald Institute, officially launched in 2018, works to enhance Canada鈥檚 global leadership in the field, which includes dark matter and neutrino research.