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John Charles Polanyi Prizes

In honour of the achievement of John Charles Polanyi, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Government of the Province of Ontario has established a fund to provide annually up to five (5) prizes to outstanding researchers in the early stages of their careers who are continuing to postdoctoral studies or have recently started a faculty appointment at an Ontario university.  The John Charles Polanyi Prizes are available in the areas broadly defined as Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Economic Science.

More detailed information about The John Charles Polanyi Prizes (external link, opens in new window) .

Prizes have a value of $20,000 each.

Deadlines are set by Council of Ontario Universities (COU), and each institution is allowed to submit up to three (3) applications per prize area.

The application deadline for students to submit to YSGS is December 1, annually.

Application information. (external link) 

Application Process

All applicants must submit an electronic copy of the following documents in a single PDF package by December 1 to Natasha Mills – natasha.mills@torontomu.ca.

  • The completed application form
  • Curriculum vitae, including information concerning the application. Updates to curriculum vitae will not be accepted after submission.
  • A brief summary of the doctoral thesis (1 page, to be written by the applicant)
  • A statement of research (or writing) to be undertaken during the period of the award (maximum of 2 pages, plus an additional 1 page for diagrams, bibliography, etc., to be prepared by the applicant)
  • A non-technical summary (maximum 500 words, to be written by the applicant)
  • Confidential letters from four assessors. These should focus on an evaluation of the applicant’s research (or writing) to date and the research (or writing) being undertaken. The applicant must ask for the appraisals to be transmitted electronically directly to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Two of the assessors must not have been associated with the candidate as either a supervisor, a member of the applicant’s supervisory committee or a co-author and should preferably be from another university.

Applications will be reviewed by Faculty associate deans and the vice-provost and dean of YSGS; successful applicants will be forwarded to the John Charles Polanyi committee for further review.