Three faculty members in the Physics Department at Laurentian University received Nov. 15 the first John C. Polanyi award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) in recognition of the team’s contributions to science.

Professors Doug Hallman, Clarence Virtue and Jacques Farine are the local award winners. A research grant of $250,000 is included as a part of the award.

The Laurentian professors are among 24 recipients from eight Canadian universities and government laboratories who have led the design, construction and operations of the SNO laboratory at the CVRD-Inco Creighton Mine over the past 16 years and have contributed to its discoveries on neutrinos - fundamental subatomic particles found throughout the universe.

The NSERC John C. Polanyi Award was created to honour the scientific achievements of Dr. Polanyi, who won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.