Acfas honours Concordians
The Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas) presented the Prix Acfas – Ressources naturelles 2011 to Diane Bastien, a PhD candidate in Concordia’s Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The award was presented at the association’s annual gala on September 29.
Since 1944, Acfas has been recognizing local researchers for exceptional scientific contributions and has provided support for promising scientific researchers through various initiatives, including raising public awareness of the importance of funding scientific research.
The Acfas gala also featured the presentation of academic prizes from two other prestigious organizations and Concordia graduates were among the recipients. Suzanne Hood, who holds a PhD in psychology from Concordia’s Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, received the prize for the best doctoral thesis in the province from the Association des doyens des études de cycles supérieures du Québec. This prize is awarded annually.
Myriam Suchet, of France, who recently completed her PhD in Humanities at Concordia, was also honoured. She received the Prix de thèse en cotutelle, sponsored by the Consulat général de France à Québec and Quebec’s Ministry of International Relations. The Prix de thèse en cotutelle recognizes the best thesis written under an academic collaboration agreement between France and Quebec. The prize — accompanied by an award of $1,500 — is given annually to one student from France and one student from Quebec.
Diane Bastien
Co-author of the report The Potential of Solar Energy in Quebec, which was published in September 2011, Bastien is convinced Quebec possesses an important potential for solar energy in spite of its harsh climate. Bastien is currently working to introduce new policies to facilitate the integration of solar energy in buildings across the province.
Suzanne Hood
Hood’s thesis identified a new regulator of the circadian clock. Her research has demonstrated how the brain chemical dopamine regulates these cycles by altering the activity of the "clock-protein" PER2. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, these findings may have implications for individuals with Parkinson’s disease who have disrupted 24-hour rhythms of activity and sleep.
Myriam Suchet
Suchet explores the challenges that emerge from translating heterolingual texts — texts written simultaneously in different languages — through her doctoral thesis, Textes hétérolingues et textes traduits : de “la langue" aux figures de l’énonciation. Pour une littérature comparée différentielle. Suchet currently holds a limited term appointment as lecturer at l’École normale supérieure de Lyon.
Related links:
• Details of Acfas award winners
• Acfas
• Doctoral Thesis – Suzanne Hood
• Profile of Myriam Suchet
• Interview with Myriam Suchet:
• ADESAQ