Clara Benson Award

 For research by a woman in chemistry

Submit a Nomination: To nominate someone for this award, fill out the nomination form and submit your complete package as one pdf.
Consult the Terms of Reference
View the complete list of current and past winners

The 2012 winner is:

Rina Carlini, MCIC

Born and raised in Montreal, Que., Rina Carlini obtained her BSc in chemistry in 1992 from Concordia University’s Institute for Cooperative Education. She received an NSERC Centennial Scholarship to pursue graduate research in organic chemistry at the University of Waterloo. She completed her PhD degree in 1997 and was awarded the University of Waterloo Alumni Gold Medal.

Carlini has acquired 15 years of industrial chemistry R&D experience over the course of her professional career. She joined Xerox Research Centre of Canada in 1998 as an NSERC Industrial Research Fellow, and thereafter as a senior research scientist within their Materials Synthesis & Characterization Laboratory. At Xerox, Carlini developed a variety of novel organic and polymer compounds and processes that include high-performance colorants, self-assembled nanoscale pigments and organogel materials, some of which are used in Xerox’s commercial products that feature solid ink technology (Phaser®, WorkCenter®, and ColorQube® multi-function printers). She was promoted to Xerox Principal Scientist in 2007 and led Xerox’s nanotechnology R&D partnership with NRC-NINT while also directing two of the collaborative projects. She helped establish and direct a new technology incubator program at Xerox that provided seed funding for high-risk research projects that target new business opportunities. She is a productive inventor who holds 63 US patents for Xerox Corp. and has authored 14 peer-reviewed papers and conference proceedings.

Carlini is presently vice-chair of the CIC Materials Chemistry Division, and serves on the Board of Directors for both the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, and for Nano Ontario. She has a keen interest in raising student awareness about careers in science through her participation in science outreach events and in co-organizing CSC’s Industrial Chemistry symposia since 2009.

Terms of Reference top

This award is presented to a woman who has made a distinguished contribution to chemistry while working in Canada.

Deadline: July 1 of every year.

Sponsor: Canadian Council of University Chemistry Chairs (CCUCC)

Award: Framed Scroll, $1,000 cash, and up to $500 for travel.

The recipient will be required to present an award lecture at the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition.

Membership in the Institute is not a prerequisite for this award.

All nominations will remain in force for three years. Nominators are responsible for keeping the record of the nominee up to date and complete.

Selection Committee

• CSC Director of Awards as non-voting Chair
• Past or Vice Chair of each of the following Divisions: Analytical Chemistry Division; Organic Chemistry Division; Inorganic Chemistry Division; Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Division

The award shall be presented annually unless the Committee considers that no suitable candidate has been nominated.