Linda Nazar wins $1-million Herzberg Gold Medal for battery research

WATERLOO · University of Waterloo chemist Linda Nazar will receive Canada's top science prize, the $1-million Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal, for her pioneering work on next-generation batteries. The award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada recognizes research that has advanced the design of safer, more efficient batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage for power grids. Nazar said she felt humbled, inspired and surprised by the honour, which will be presented on November 4.

"I felt quite honestly both humbled and inspired," Nazar told Quirks & Quarks. "It's a real honour and I'm thrilled and deeply appreciative of receiving this and frankly I was surprised."

The Herzberg medal was one of 26 prizes announced by NSERC on Thursday. It is awarded annually to researchers whose work has had a transformative impact on their field. NSERC President Professor Alejandro Adem said in a statement that Nazar has built a globally influential research enterprise through visionary leadership, industry collaboration and mentorship.

"We celebrate her remarkable contributions and the profound influence she continues to have on science and the research community," Adem said.

Nazar's discoveries have helped tackle major challenges in the transition to renewable energy, such as developing batteries that store more power, last longer, cost less and operate safely. Michael Pope, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo who co-directs the Ontario Battery and Electrochemistry Research Centre with Nazar, said her pioneering discoveries have advanced the fundamental understanding of battery chemistry.

"[Her discoveries have] led to the development of entirely new battery materials and technologies," Pope said in a statement. "Having worked closely with Linda, I have witnessed first-hand her extraordinary passion for science, unwavering dedication to discovery and genuine love of research, making this recognition incredibly well deserved."

Nazar's path into battery research began with a side project. After earning a chemistry degree from the University of British Columbia in 1978 and a PhD from the University of Toronto in 1984, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Exxon Research Labs in New Jersey. The lab was among the first working on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and Nazar would run battery experiments every Friday as a side project.

"It was just a great opportunity to kind of have some fun on a Friday afternoon," she said.

That early work sparked a career at the forefront of battery innovation. By the early 2000s, her research helped advance the understanding of lithium iron phosphate, a material now widely used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles and laptops. According to Ontario's Universities, her research has contributed to developments that could one day allow electric cars to travel farther on a single charge. Nazar, who is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Society in the U.K., was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2015. She says what excites her most is the long-term potential for her research to benefit the environment and humanity.

"Charging electric vehicles via renewable sources and mitigating climate change as a result is…extremely important, extremely important," she said.

With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News