IQC postdoc earns prestigious Polanyi Prize

The Institute for Quantum Computing's (IQC) Anne Broadbent says she is “extremely honoured” to have won the award, named for John Charles Polanyi, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Awarded yearly by the Ontario government, the prize recognizes up to five outstanding young researchers whose work contributes to the advancement of science and discovery.

Broadbent says the award is an encouraging validation that she is doing valuable research, and inspiration to remain at the forefront of her field.

“As a postdoctoral research fellow, I am at a pivotal point in my career,” she said. “Things that happen now will have substantial consequences on the rest of my career, and this award is a very significant milestone on my career path.”

Broadbent accepted the honour during a formal ceremony at Toronto’s Massey College on Nov. 30 led by Ontario Lieutenant Governor David C. Onley, and John Milloy, Ontario’s Minister of Training Colleges and Universities.

The other four 2010 Polanyi Prize recipients are: Todd Hoare of McMaster University for chemistry; Benjamin Lester of the University of Western Ontario for economics; Dr. Anna Lewis of the University of Ottawa for literature; and Dr. Alex Wong of the University of Ottawa for physiology/medicine.

When she’s not exploring the possibilities of information processing in the quantum realm, Broadbent spends time with her husband and young son on a rural homestead nicknamed Windy Poplars.