Pam Bjornson, Director General of NRC-CISTI and sponsor of the Canadian National Committee for CODATA (CNC/CODATA), is pleased to announce the recognition of Dr. James Sangster of Sangster Research Laboratories (Montréal) by ICSU's Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). Dr. Sangster is a long-time Member and supporter of CODATA at both national and international levels. Since 2004, he has offered the Sangster Award for Young Scientists to help foster and advance science and technology through developing and sharing knowledge about data and the activities that work with data.

Such a significant endeavor has not gone unnoticed on the International level. Although Canada had already been lauded for taking initiatives in this area by the CODATA General Assembly in 2004, by 2006 CODATA itself had adopted concrete recommendations encouraging other country members to follow this Canadian example. Finally for the first time at the Kyiv (2008) CODATA conference, a Young Scientist Roundtable was held, and Canada's Sangster Award recipient was recognized at the high-profile CODATA Prize award ceremony.

In recognition of his foresight, CODATA International has awarded Dr. Sangster its praise and recognition in the form of a plaque, was presented to him at the CNC/CODATA 27th Annual Meeting, held in Ottawa at NRC-CISTI on September 24, 2010. Presented to Dr. Sangster by CODATA Vice President Dr. Gordon Wood, the text of the plaque reads:

Dr. James Sangster (left) is awarded CODATA's plaque of recognition by CODATA's Vice President, Dr. Gordon Wood. Photo courtesy of Harry Turner, NRC

CNC/CODATA announces the recipient of the 2008 Sangster Award: Mme Sabrina Fortin, Ph.D. candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Montreal (Canada). Ms Fortin presented her work at the 21st International CODATA Conference, Scientific Information for Society - from Today to the Future, 5-8 October 2008, Kyiv, Ukraine.

CNC/CODATA did not offer the Sangster Award in 2010 due to circumstances beyond control. When offered, this award enables a graduate student enrolled in a Canadian university, or recent graduate (within 3 years of graduation), to attend and present his or her work at International CODATA Conferences. It is expected that the award winner's field of study will support the general objectives of CODATA, namely, to help foster and advance science and technology through developing and sharing knowledge about data and data-related activities.

Click here for details · Cliquez ici pour les détails

The recipient of the 2010 CODATA Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the World of Scientific and Technical Data, has been announced. It has been awarded to Paul F. Uhlir, Director of the Board on Research Data and Information. As a worldwide scholar in scientific data and information policy and law he has dedicated himself to international cooperation for enhancing open access to and application of scientific data for more than 20 years. He has also played a significant role in spearheading the bilateral roundtable discussions on data access and capacity building for the developing world. The Award will be presented at the forthcoming 22nd International CODATA Conference in South Africa.

• The CODATA PRIZE 2008
  Dr. Liu Chang, Institute of Geography and Natural Resources, Beijing. For more than two decades, she has contributed to the development of significant new scientific data products and services and worked with the Chinese scientific community and key government institutions to improve data quality and availability.
• The CODATA PRIZE 2006
  Dr. John R. Rumble, Jr., Technical Director for Information International Associates. Dr. Rumble was honored for being "an innovator in the world of scientific and technical data." He has been instrumental in extending data evaluation techniques in new disciplines, including engineering, materials, and biotechnology.
• The CODATA PRIZE 2004
  Professor Jean Bonnin, President of the Association "Earth Data Network for Education and Scientific Exchange" (EDNES). Professor Bonnin is recognized for outstanding achievement in the areas of geophysics, seismology and geodynamics.
• The CODATA PRIZE 2002
  Professor Arthur D. Pelton, École Polytechnique, Montreal Canada. Professor Pelton is widely acknowledged as an innovative leader in the field of computational thermodynamics, as applied to metallurgical and chemical systems of interest in industrial and academic research. He and his group have led the development of the widely used and acclaimed FACT system (Facility for the Analysis of Chemical Thermodynamics).
• Previous recipients.

The National Consultation on Access to Scientific Research Data (NCASRD) is a partnership initiative of the National Research Council Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). The goal of the NCASRD is to help Canada maximize the value received from its publicly funded natural and medical sciences research by recommending an appropriate framework and guidelines, which will facilitate open and long-term access to data coming from that research.

The NCASRD stems from a National Research Council (NRC) seminar held in May 2003, in which over fifty representatives from the natural and medical sciences community recommended that a comprehensive study, complementary to the National Data Archive Consultation for the social sciences completed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the National Archives of Canada, be conducted to examine access to scientific research data.

The Final Report is now available, in English or French

At its annual meeting on 24 September 2010 in Ottawa, the Canadian National Committee for CODATA (CNC/CODATA) was pleased to include several guests from Scientific Unions, NSERC and CIHR, and other interested organizations. The adopted policy of inviting experts from specific disciplines to join the regular CNC/CODATA Members and Observers has proven mutually beneficial and is highly recommended to other national committees.
View the Group Photo

CNC/CODATA is sponsored by CISTI (the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information), part of the National Research Council of Canada