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
April 2020 - Mar 2027
Oct 2015 - Sept 2022
Oct 2008 - Sept 2022
July 2001 - June 2022
July 2001 - June 2022
Dec 2009 - Nov 2023
Apr 2012 - Mar 2024
July 2011 - April 2023
Tier 2
Apr 2014 - Mar 2024
July 2014 - June 2024
October 2017 - September 2022
Apr 2014 - Sept 2024
Statistical Learning
Feb. 2020 - Mar. 2025
2018 - Sept 2023
Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory
September 2020 - August 2025
October 2017 - September 2022
2018 - September 2023
Aquatic Global Change Ecology and Conservation
October 2019 - September 2024
2018 - September 2023
Magnetic Resonance of Advanced Materials
September 2020 - August 2025
Partner/Donor Supported Chairs and Professorships
Supporting a research position creates impact in both research and in teaching.
July 2012 - Dec 2021
Other Chairs and Professorships
March 1, 2014 - Present
July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2024
Oct. 1, 2017 - Sept. 30, 2024
July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2022
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