Federal government increases amounts of
Michael Smith Awards

Ottawa, December 1, 1999 -- Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development) Dr. Gilbert Normand today announced an increase in the Michael Smith Awards for Science Promotion to $10,000 for organizations and $5,000 for individuals.

"These awards recognize the efforts of Canadians who do an excellent job of developing science ability or encouraging popular interest in science," said Dr. Normand. "The prize increases are a sign of the value the government places on excellence in promoting science to the public."

The Secretary of State also indicated that NSERC has recently assumed responsibility for the awards from Industry Canada.

"We are honoured to be associated with Dr. Smith and his awards," says Tom Brzustowski, NSERC President. "Helping people understand the benefits of discovery and innovation is a big job. Interpersonal contacts, creativity and grass roots involvement are very important."

Throughout his career, Dr. Smith has strongly encouraged young people to pursue science as a career and he has been personally committed to science promotion. He became the inspiration for the creation of these awards when he donated part of his Nobel Prize money to science promotion activities.

"Science and research are such an exciting part of the human endeavour and they make such a difference to our lives that everyone should know at least a little about them and have some level of awareness of the human activity behind the successes," said Michael Smith.

To promote the independently juried awards, NSERC has launched a web site to help Canadians nominate successful science promoters. The site will carry news about the winning initiatives.

The first in the new series of competitions for the Michael Smith Awards will be launched in January. Please check this web site for nominating instructions: www.nserc.ca/awards_e.

NSERC is the primary federal agency investing in people, discovery, and innovation. The Council supports both basic university research through research grants and project research through partnerships of universities with industry. NSERC also supports the advanced training of highly qualified people in both areas.

For more information, contact:

Arnet Sheppard, NSERC, at (613) 725-7624 (cell phone),

Robert Roy CRSNG : (613) 725-7624 (téléphone cellulaire)

Sonya-Kim St-Julien, Press Secretary, Dr. Gilbert Normand,
at (613) 943-0868