Prestigious awards

Prestigious awards are an opportunity for University of Waterloo researchers to be recognized and rewarded by external organizations for the value of their research.  

The Waterloo Awards Committee promotes and facilitates the submission of high-quality nominations of Waterloo scholars across all disciplines for prestigious awards and honorific titles.

The list below provides detail categorized by discipline with further detail about eligibility requirements, etc.

Please note that deadlines or anticipated deadlines change often so check the website for the organization that is presenting the award regularly to be sure of the deadline.

Upcoming deadlines

All dates and links are anticipated but may change between now and the final deadline. Please note that many sponsors do not update their websites until 2-3 months before the deadline date. Always double-check sponsor websites before committing to a nomination.

Watch for updates on deadlines for awards in the following categories:

Request President's Letter for Prestigious Awards

If you require a letter from the President as part of an application for a prestigious award, please complete the form.

Pivot-RP

Learn more about Pivot-RP, a new searchable funding programs database, and how you can start searching for funding opportunities, access training videos, and more.

Global Excellence Initiative (GEI)

Launched in 2012 by former Governor General of Canada David Johnston, GEI promotes the recognition of Canadian research talent on the international stage by identifying and offering assistance to meritorious candidates for prestigious national and international awards.

LIST OF AWARDS DUE JANUARY TO APRIL

All dates and nomination requirements are subject to change. Please consult the sponsor’s websites before committing to a course of action. 

Due date Award
Continuous Alexandre Lamfalussy Senior Research Fellowship - Bank for International Settlements
Rolling deadline Order of Canada
January 15 (annually) William Sanders Scarborough Prize
January 15 (annually) Massey Medal
January 17 (anticipated) Awards for Excellence in Cancer Research (Canadian Cancer Society)
January 18 Swedish Steel Prize
January 20 (anticipated) Volvo Environment Prize
January 30 NSERC Science Exposed
January 30 (anticipated) Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
January 31 (anticipated) Albert Einstein World Award of Science*
January 31 (anticipated) Jose Vasconcelos Word Award of Education
January 31 (anticipated) Japan Prize in Science and Technology
January 31 Gerda Henkel Prize
January 31 (anticipated) Energy Globe Award
January 31 Welch Award in Chemistry
January 31 (annually) Canadian Association of Geographers Awards
February 1 Harvey Prize
February 6 (Biennial nomination in odd years) Canadian Cancer Research Alliance
February 8 Article of Year (CIHR-IHSPR) (CAHSPR)

February 10 (Internal NOI)

April 24 (anticipated)

 Stein Rokkan Prize
February 16 (anticipated) Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research
February 23 (anticipated) Premier Royal Society (UK) Medals and Awards
February 23 (anticipated) Rumelhart Prize
February 23 (anticipated) Copley Medal
February 26 (anticipated) John H. Chapman Award of Excellence
February 27 (anticipated) 25 Women in Science Program
February 27 2022-2023 Minister of Colleges and Universities Awards of Excellence
February 28 Grawemeyer Award in Psychology
March 1 Achievement Awards - ARVO Foundation for Eye Research (AFER) - Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)

March 1 (Internal NOI to nominate)

Sponsor deadline: May 28 (anticipated)

 WXN Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100
March 1 American Statistical Association
March 1 Society of Women Engineers
March 6 (anticipated) Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellowship
March 10 (anticipated) Arrell Global Food Innovation Awards
March 15 (anticipated) Science & PINS Prize
March 15 Ida B. Wells-Troy Duster Award
March 15* (anticipated) Balzan Prize
March 15 Harvey Prize
March 20 Charles Pankow Award for Innovation - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
March 31 King Faisal International Prize in Science
March 31 Early-career scientist prize in atomic, molecular and optical physics - International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
March 31 (anticipated) Order of Ontario
April 1 (anticipated) SSHRC Impact Awards
April 1* (anticipated biennially in odd years - 2025) Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize
April 1 Oral History Association - Book Award
April 1* Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Award
April 1 (anticipated) Breakthrough Prizes
April 1 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering
April 3 Community-Based Research Canada
April 3 (anticipated) High Performance Computing Excellence Award
April 12* (anticipated) International Cosmos Prize
April 14 (anticipated) Innovators in Science Award
April 15 2024 CIHR-ICRH/CCCS Distinguished Lecturer Award in Critical Care Sciences
April 15 2024 CIHR-ICRH/CCCS Mid-Career Lecturer Award in Critical Care Sciences
April 17; 2 p.m. Vietnam Time, GMT +7 (anticipated) VinFuture Prize
April 20 (anticipated) Research Canada Leadership Award
April 20 American Public Health Association Award
April 30 (anticipated) Marcus Wallenberg Prize
April 30; until 10 p.m. UTC (anticipated) The Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research
April 30 Outstanding Achievement Award in the Evaluation of Clinical Competence

*Awards indicated with * require the President’s signature and/or letter of support

LIST OF AWARDS DUE MAY TO AUGUST

All dates and nomination requirements are subject to change. Please consult the sponsor’s websites before committing to a course of action. 

Due date Award
May 1 World Food Prize
May 1 Modern Language Association - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prizes
May 1 Modern Language Association - William Sanders Scarborough Prize
May 2 (anticipated) Emerging Leader in Advocacy Award - Research Canada
May 6 (4 p.m. MT) (anticipated) Mid-career lecturer award in respiratory sciences - Canadian Institutes of Health Research
May 6 (anticipated) CCS Recognition Awards - Canadian Cardiovascular Society
May 8 Canada's Volunteer Awards - Government of Canada
May 15 Achievement Medals - Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
May 15 (anticipated) NOMIS & Science Young Explorer Award
May 22 (anticipated) Dorothy Killam Fellowship

May 28 (anticipated)

Internal NOI to Nominate: March 1

 WXN Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100
May 29 (anticipated) Killam Prizes
May 29 RSC Eric Jackman Prize
May 29 RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement
May 30 (anticipated) Bower Award & Prize for Achievement in Science
May 31 Ciprian Foias Prize in Operator Theory
May 31 Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics
May 31  Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
May 31 SAE International Award for Commercial Vehicle Innovation honouring Magnus Hendrickson
May 31 Award for Mathematics Programs that Make a Difference
May 31 David P. Robbins Prize
June 1 Joseph B. Gittler Award
June 1 (anticipated) Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts
June 1 (anticipated) USERN Prize
June 1 John von Neumann Theory Prize
June 1 (anticipated) The Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application
June 3 W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics
June 3 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science
June 5 (anticipated) Paul Corkum Fellowship
June 7 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
June 10 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame - Laureate
June 14 Dirac Medal - Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
June 14 (anticipated) Impactful Actions Award - Profound Impact
June 14 (anticipated) Trailblazer Awards - Canadian Science Policy Centre
June 14 (anticipated) Science Policy Youth Award - Canadian Science Policy Centre
June 15 The WLA Prize (World Laureates Association Prize - WLA Foundation)
June 15 (annually) Holberg International Memorial Prize
June 15 (annually) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Medal of Honour
June 15 (anticipated) Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology

Internal deadline: July 15 (anticipated)

Sponsor deadline: September 30 (anticipated)

 Douglas R. Colton Medal for Research Excellence (CMC microsystems)

Internal NOI: June 22

Internal deadline (to submit materials): July 6 (anticipated)

August 31 (anticipated, annual)

 Steacie Prize for Natural Sciences
June 24 (anticipated) CANIE Awards
June 27 (anticipated) Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowships - JDRF
June 27 (anticipated) Postdoctoral Fellowships - JDRF
June 28 (anticipated) Research Fellow Award Program - MMRF
June 30 (anticipated) Marconi Prize
June 30 AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
June 30 AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science
June 30 (anticipated) Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award
June 30 (anticipated) BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Awards
July 1 (anticipated) Art of Neuroscience
July 1 Kappa Delta Awards/OREF Clinical Research Award - AAOS
July 1 Early Career Award - American Astronomical Society (AAS)
July 1 The Laboratory Astrophysics Prize - American Astronomical Society (AAS)
July 1 Article Prize - Nineteenth Century Studies Association (NCSA)
July 1 Emerging Scholars Award - Nineteenth Century Studies Association (NCSA)
July 8 (anticipated) L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science
July 15 Health Research Foundation - Medal of Honour
July 15 Canada Gairdner - Momentum Award
July 21 (anticipated) Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards - Women & Gender Constituency
July 23 Health Research Foundation - Diversity and equity award
July 26 Healthcare Technologies Student and Early Career awards (J.A. Lodge Award) - IET
July 31 (anticipated) Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals - Merit Awards
July 31 One Act Playwriting - William Faulkner Literary Competition
July 31 Adult Short Story - William Faulkner Literary Competition
July 31 Poetry Competition - William Faulkner Literary Competition
July 31 The Women in Tech® Global Awards
August 1 Chemical Institute of Canada and related chemistry awards
August 4 (anticipated) The Ryman Prize
August 5 Jan Tinbergen awards - International Statistical Institute
August 5 Founders of Statistics Prize for Contemporary Research Contributions - ISI
August 6 Samsung AI Researcher of the Year
August 8 SPIE Awards Program - Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
August 8 Pharmacy Cares Awards - ASHP Foundation
August 9 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement
August 12 International Mobility Innovation Award for People with Disabilities - SAE
August 15 Canada Gairdner - Early Career Investigator Competition
August 15 Bioengineering journal lectureship award
August 15 Marine Institute Research for Policy Awards - Marine Institute
August 18 African Academy of Sciences Fellowship
August 23 (anticipated) Future of Nature award
August 23 (anticipated) Housing Research Awards - CMHC SCHL
August 31 (anticipated, annual) Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award - Brandeis University
August 31 (anticipated) Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences
August 31 Sarah Sayce Award for Sustainability Research - Property Research Trust
August 31 Polymers Journal young investigator award

*Awards indicated with * require the President’s signature and/or letter of support

LIST OF AWARDS DUE SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER

All dates and nomination requirements are subject to change. Please consult the sponsor’s websites before committing to a course of action. 

Due date Award
September 1 (anticipated) Abel Prize
September 2 Affiliated & Junior-Senior Core Fellowships - Institute for Advanced Study CEU
September 4 Clinician scientist fellowhip - Medical Research Council & UK Research and Innovation
Internal: August 8 (anticipated); Sponsor: September 6 (anticipated) Governor General's Innovation Awards [Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences]

Expression of Interest (non-binding): September 7 

Internal Deadline: September 22 

Sponsor Deadline: November 7  

 Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity
September 8 Turner Fellowship - Cambridge Conservation Initiative
September 8 Medicina Journal Young Investigator Award
September 12 Sarah Jones Award - Research Data Alliance
September 15 (anticipated, annually) Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award - Franklin Institute
September 15 (anticipated) Borealis Scientific Innovation Award
September 15 CNC-IUPAC - Travel Awards
September 15 Sloan Research Fellowships
September 15 AACR Team Science Award
September 15 (anticipated) Dr. A.H. Heineken Prizes
September 16 (anticipated) John Simon Guggenheim Fellowships
September 17 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
September 18  Global Young Academy - Call for new members
September 18 Stockholm Water Prize
September 19 CultTech x Ars Electronica Award - Ars Electronica & Austrian Broadcasting Company
September 20 Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health Program - Global Brain Health Institute
September 22 Junior Digital Humanism Fellowships - Vienna Institute for Human Sciences
September 24 Visiting Researchers Programme - BOFIT
September 27 Research Chair on Major Societal Changes (Europe & Democracy) - Paris Institute for Advanced Study
Sept 27 (NOI), Oct 17 (Internal deadline), Dec 7 (Penultimate draft to OR), Dec 16 (Sponsor deadline) NSERC McDonald Fellowships
September 30 Bavarian Pioneer Award - Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities
September 30 Alain Bensoussan Fellowships - European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics
September 30 SAE International Award for Safety in Transportation Honoring Arnold W. Siegel
September 30 Paul Bunge Prize - German Chemical Society
September 30 (anticipated) Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur Award - CCAB
September 30 Electronics Journal Young Investigator Award
September 30 Research Fellowship - Bank of International Settlement
September 30 Dan David Prize
October 1 Optica Awards
October 1 Franz Edelman Award - INFORMS
October 1 The John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award
October 1 Canada Gairdner International Award
October 1 Women Leaders in DIgital Health Awards - Digital Health Canada
October 2 International Chairs Programme - INRIA
October 3 Outstanding Case Writer Hot Topic Competition - Case Centre
October 4 Alatis Prize - International Research Foundation for English Language Education
October 5 Molson Prize
October 7 (3 p.m. ET) Northern Science Award
October 13 (anticipated) Kurt Lewin Award
October 14 Sylvia Lane Mentor Fellowship - Agricultural & Applied Economics Association
October 14 Faculty Fellowships - Notre Dame Instititue for Advanced Study
October 15 Research Hero - Wiley
October 17 Rolex Awards for Enterprise
October 18 Max Weber Fellowships - European University Institute
October 21 Association for Computing Machinery Awards
October 31 Individual Fellowships - Stellenbosch University
October 31 Young Scientist Lectureship Award - International Society for Neurochemistry
October 31 (annually) Blue Planet Prize
October 31 (awarded bi-annually in even years) Millennium Technology Prize
October 31 Iupac-Zhejiang Nhu International Award for Advancement in Green Chemistry
October 31 2024 - Governor General's Innovation Awards [Universities Canada]
November 1 Biochemical Society Awards
November 1 Fellowships - Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
November 1 BII and Science Translational Medicine Prize for Innovations in Women's Health
November 1 College for Life Sciences Fellowship - Institute for Advances study in Berlin
November 1 Wolf Prize
November 1 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity - Library of Congress
November 1 (anticipated annually) Pritzker Architecture Prize
November 1 (annually) Priestley Medal

Internal Deadline: October 21

External Deadline: November 1

 Frontiers Planet Prize
November 8 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize
November 8 Fondation Fyssen International Prize
November 15 NSERC Award for Science Promotion
November 15 Eni Awards
November 20 Samuel P. Hays Research Fellowship - American Society for Environmental History
November 20  CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program
November 28 (anticipated) NSERC John C. Polanyi Award
November 28 (before 8 p.m. ET; anticipated) Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
November 28 (before 8 p.m. ET; anticipated) Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering
November 28 (anticipated) Brockhouse Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering 
November 29 Bank of Canada - Governor’s Award
November 30 (anticipated) Bank of Canada - Fellowship Award
November 30 Leonardo da Vinci's World Award of Arts
November 30 Hagley Prize
November 30 Simon-Widmer Award - Swiss Chemical Society
December 2 Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship Award
December 2 John Charles Polanyi Prizes - Council of Ontario Universities
December 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET NSERC Synergy Awards for Innovation
December 11 (anticipated) Governor General's Performing Arts Awards
December 14 Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships
December 15 RSC College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists
December 15 Fellow of Royal Society of Canada
December 15 Royal Society of Canada - medals and awards
Dec 15 (anticipated) Governor General's International Award in Canadian Studies
December 15 Gruber Prizes
December 16 CIHR Trailblazer
December 18 APSA-IPSA Theodore J Lowi first book award - International Political Science Association
December 31, 2025 (every 4 years) Fields Medal
December 31 International Hydrology Prize
December 31 Carl Friedrich Fauss Prize - International Mathematical Union
December 31 Biomedicines Journal young investigator award - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Rolling deadline Benjamin Franklin Medals

Recent presentations

Recent awards stories

  • Linda Nazar awarded prestigious Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship

  • University of Waterloo President appointed to Order of Ontario

  • Waterloo and the Order of Ontario

  • Environment researcher awarded for their contribution to international law literature

  • Professor elected a fellow of geographical society

  • Professor honoured for advancing inclusion in engineering

  • Environment leader awarded the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal