The 15th Annual Discovery Award Finalists Announced

Halifax, NS – September 18, 2017 – The Discovery Centre, a 30+ year-old non-profit charity that recognizes excellence in science and technology, is hosting its 15th annual Discovery Awards – Halifax’s most prestigious science recognition event – on November 23rd at the Cunard Centre to celebrate Nova Scotia’s best and brightest science innovators.

There will be two Nova Scotia Science Hall of Fame Inductees: Dr. William Feindel (1918-2014) will be recognized posthumously for his for contributions to neurosurgical research and development of medical diagnostic equipment. Dr. Peter Allen will be recognized for his leadership in creating one of the largest solar energy product manufacturers in North America.

There are also four categories for professional awards: Professional of Distinction, Emerging Professional, Innovation and Science Champion. The following lists the selected finalists for this year’s awards, with the winners to be announced at the Awards event:

PROFESSIONAL OF DISTINCTION
Jason Clyburne – Environmental Science & Chemistry, Saint Mary’s University
Patrick McGrath – VP Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation, IWK Health Centre
Fred Whoriskey – Biology & the Ocean Tracking Network, Dalhousie University

EMERGING PROFESSIONAL:
Amy Bombay – Psychiatry and Nursing, Dalhousie University
Ghada Koleilat – Electrical Engineering, Dalhousie University
Samuel Veres – Engineering, Saint Mary’s University

INNOVATION:
Densitas Inc. – Mohamed (Mo) Abdolell, Founder/CEO
Kinduct Technologies Inc – Travis McDonough, Founder/CEO
QRA Corporation – Jordan Kyriakidis, CEO/President

SCIENCE CHAMPION:
Lisa Lunney Borden – Education, St. Francis Xavier University
Kevin Hewitt – Physics, Dalhousie University
Matthew Lukeman – Chemistry, Acadia University

Finally, two Nova Scotia students will share this year’s Youth Award. Janani Venkat, a Grade 9 student at Bedford Academy and Anisha Rajaselvam, a grade 9 student at the Sacred Heart School of Halifax. Venkat and Rajaselvam will be recognized for their science fair projects which each earned Gold Medal status at the 2017 Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Tickets are now available online, proceeds from the event will support the Discovery Centre’s non-profit mission to bring STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) to life through fun, interactive learning experiences and continue to inspire generations of science professionals in Nova Scotia.

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For more infomation, please contact: 

Andrea Durfee 
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Discovery Centre

(902) 492.4422 x 2232