
Linda Nazar awarded prestigious Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship
Nazar will accelerate research on new and potentially disruptive battery technologies, aligning it with the NRC's Critical Battery Materials Initiative
Nazar will accelerate research on new and potentially disruptive battery technologies, aligning it with the NRC's Critical Battery Materials Initiative
By Katie McQuaid Faculty of ScienceDistinguished researcher Dr. Linda Nazar was awarded the inaugural for 2025. Nazar, a professor in ٳ Department of Chemistry aԻ Canada Research Chair in Solid State Energy Materials, is a pioneer in battery technology research, including lithium-sulfur and solid-state batteries.
The Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship provides support to a prominent scholar, granting them time to pursue a novel project in collaboration with a National Research Council (NRC) researcher, leveraging NRC facilities. The grant bestowed upon the winners of the Fellowship will provide Nazar and her colleague, Dr. Yaser Abu-Lebdeh from the NRC, with dedicated time to accelerate progress in research on new and potentially disruptive battery technologies, aligning it with the NRC’s Critical Battery Materials Initiative.
Their research aims to address challenges in lithium-ion battery technology, which traditionally uses cobalt-containing materials associated with low energy density, high costs, and environmental and socio-economic issues.
“Oܰ proposed solution is to use nickel-containing materials in combination with other lower-cost materials instead, but nickel-containing materials pose stability challenges that must be addressed,” says Nazar. They will seek to overcome these chemical and technological challenges, enabling the development of higher nickel-containing, cobalt-free materials.
With Nazar and Abu-’s labs collaborating, they are bringing together experts in solid-state electrochemistry and batteries by mixing those with fundamental expertise with those with a focus on scale-up methods to advance the technology readiness. “The Fellowship will facilitate closer ties between our two labs to enhance our ability to deliver critical results that will contribute to advancing the feasibility and adoption of electric vehicles and other energy storage applications,” says Nazar.
A Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellow has to be an inclusive collaborator, a barrier breaker or a research leader – Nazar is all three, so it’s easy to see why she was a great choice for the inaugural awarding of this Fellowship.
Read more
True North Fund partners with ݮƵ to develop a Canadian talent pipeline to help strengthen the country’s top 100 tech firms
Read more
More than 100,000 children and youth from across the region are discovering the wonders of science and technology through the University of ݮƵ
Read more
An interdisciplinary team at the University of ݮƵ is using Canadian technology to help measure and reduce methane emissions
The University of ݮƵ acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.