Nils Petersen, BSc’72

Recipient of the Professional Achievement Award

Nils Petersen’s career can be summed up by the word dedication. His commitment to academic excellence, innovation and support of young scientists is guided by the French principle of noblesse oblige: if you posess special skills, you must use them and share them to help others. From his time as an undergraduate at Western, Nils showed great talent, integrity and a generous cooperative spirit – traits that have delivered incredible impact for the scientific community.

At Western and during his graduate and doctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology, Nils received several awards that reflect his scholastic excellence. His area of expertise includes the properties and functions of phospholipids, fatty substances which form biological membranes such as the plasma membrane surrounding cells. Nils is recognized as establishing several important scientific concepts for imaging of cells.

As a professor at Western, Nils supervised more than 20 undergraduates, three master’s and 14 doctoral students, and nine postdoctoral fellows. Many of his trainees have expressed their personal gratitude for Nils’ thoughtful and skillful supervision.  

Always an outstanding professor, Nils received three teaching awards at Western where his research also flourished. Nils has published 143 academic articles with over 6,000 citations and several book chapters and a book – a strong testament to his commitment to discovery, innovation and communication of science.

Nils held several positions at Western including associate dean of graduate studies, chair of the chemistry department, and vice-president (research). Nils established the platform for Western’s future success in major funding programs such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust as exemplified by the creation of the computing network SharkNet.

Nils has provided notable service through national and international committees and boards and through his leadership as founder and director general of the National Institute of Nanotechnology. After retirement, he co-created and currently teaches a nationally accredited course on professional ethics for chemists. Nils serves as Professor Emeritus at Western and the University of Alberta.

Nils’ former students praise him for fostering an incredible environment for research in the lab and instilling confidence required for success. Because of his positive and encouraging mentorship, six of his proteges enjoy successful academic careers in Canada and the United States, and many colleagues have benefited from his collaborative spirit.