Russ Algar
The Power List 2018
Russ Algar
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Early inspiration
Analytical science is fun and diverse because it’s the “jack of all trades”. I get to mix chemistry with physics, engineering, and biology to work toward an objective with a clear current or future application.
Research
Luminescent (nano)materials for bioanalysis. Our research aims to develop new tools and technologies suitable for point-of-care medical diagnostics, and for elucidating complex biochemistry and cell biology.
Greatest achievement
Einstein said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” I tend to think of my biggest achievement in science as my next one. Hopefully, I’m still young enough for that to be true.
Objective
Continued growth. I want to look back and see that my team and I solved problems that were daunting or unimagined today, and have a research program that is broader in scope, with more partnerships with other research groups, industry, and clinicians.
Nominator comment: Russ’s awards include the 2017 Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Fred Beamish Award, 2017 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award, 2017 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, 2017 CNC-IUPAC Travel Award, 2014-2019 MSFHR Scholar Award and 2012-2022 Canada Research Chair.
