Research Chairs

Research Chairs are the lifeblood of the Faculty of Science's robust research program. Research Chairs and Professorships allow us to recruit and retain some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds. These positions allow us to recognize outstanding researchers who are acknowledged by their peers as current or emerging world leaders in their fields.

Canada Research Chairs

The Faculty of Science holds 22 of the 116 Canada Research Chairs allocated to the University of Alberta.

Established by the Government of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs program enables Canadian Universities and their affiliated research institutes and hospitals to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and to become world-class centres of research.

The program aims to attract and retain excellent researchers in Canadian Universities, to strengthen the training of highly qualified personnel through research, to improve the capacity of universities to generate and apply new knowledge and to optimize the use of research resources through strategic institutional planning and collaboration.

There are two types of Canada Research Chair: Tier 1 Chairs are for seven years and are targeted at outstanding researchers who are acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields; Tier 2 Chairs are for five years and are targeted at exceptional emerging researchers who are acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their fields. Both types of chair may be renewed at the discretion of the Faculty and the University; Tier 2 Chairs may be renewed only once.

Tier 1

Tier 2

Partner/Donor Supported Chairs and Professorships

Supporting a research position creates impact in both research and in teaching.

Other Chairs and Professorships

Canada Excellence Research Chairs

Graham Pearson, CERC Laureate

Chair in Arctic Resources - Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
2010 - 2017

Lara Mahal

Chair in Glycomics - Department of Chemistry
July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2026
CERC Award website

Shinichi Nakagawa

Chair in Open Science and Synthesis in Ecology and Evolution - Department of Biological Sciences
July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2032
CERC Award website