Piper, Dr. Martha C.

1996 Winner: Outstanding Contribution To The Alberta Science And Technology Community

Elevating University Research Awareness

Dr. Martha Piper has made unprecedented strives in increasing the level of awareness of the University of Alberta’s science, research and technology expertise. With overwhelming success, she has helped the University take a leadership role in promoting research and technology. Under her leadership, the University of Alberta developed Alberta’s first strategic plan for building public awareness of university research. She spearheaded ‘Celebrate!’, a series of events that focused industry, government, public and internal University attention on the U of A’s research excellence and achievements. Centred on the theme ‘Research Makes Sense”, a number of printed pieces celebrated the economic and community impact of University research.

The third printing of Making Sense, the second printing of Research Works and the distribution of more than 11,000 Research Makes Sense buttons U of A staff, industry, government and the public shows how extensively the theme was embraced. Dr. Piper’s leadership brings together people from varying backgrounds in a collegial and creative atmosphere that results in cooperative ventures like Canada’s first Institute of Pharmaco-Economics and the National Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Forest Management. In August 1994, Dr. Piper was appointed, by Prime Minister Chretien, to the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology (NABST) and is chairing a sub-committee on Quality of Life.