Mona Nemer, Ph.D., C.M., C.Q., FRSC

Mona Nemer will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, at the 12 p.m. ceremony on Wednesday, June 18, in recognition of her international academic leadership in cardiovascular sciences and her work as a champion for Canadian science research.

Nemer is the Chief Science Advisor to Canada’s Prime Minister, Minister of Industry and Cabinet. Her mandate is to provide advice on issues related to science and government policies that support it. This includes advising on ways to ensure that science is considered in policy decisions and that government science is fully available to the public.

Before becoming the Chief Science Advisor, Nemer was Professor and Vice-President of Research at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Molecular Genetics and Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from McGill University and did post-doctoral training in molecular biology at the Institut de Recherche Clinique de Montréal and Columbia University.

Nemer is a leader in the area of molecular cardiology; she has discovered several genes essential for normal heart development and function. Her work has contributed to the development of diagnostic tests for heart failure and the genetics of cardiac birth defects. She has published more than 200 highly cited scientific articles and trained over 100 students from around the world.

Nemer is a Member of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada, a fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec, a Knight of the French Republic’s National Order of Merit and a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from universities in France, Finland, Lebanon and Canada.

Hassan Ahmed, Ph.D.

Hassan Ahmed will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa, at the 3 p.m. ceremony on Thursday, June 19, in recognition of his distinguished career as an esteemed business leader and entrepreneur in wireless network technology and telecommunications.

Ahmed has founded or helped lead companies valued at over $43 billion. He currently serves as the Chair, CEO and co-founder of Sway AI.

Previously, he co-founded and served as Chair and CEO of Affirmed Networks. The company focused on anticipating the needs of wireless service providers to change business models as they restructured the architecture of their networks to meet the rise of smartphone use. It was acquired by Microsoft in April 2020.

He also served as Chair and CEO of Sonus Networks from its early beginnings to becoming a public company that led the transformation of global telecommunication networks to VoIP.

Ahmed is a Director at Ciena. He has been a Senior Advisor at Charles River Ventures and has served in various executive roles at Ascend Communications, Cascade Communications and Analog Devices.

He served as Associate Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering and Associate Professor of Finance at Boston University. He has authored more than 50 professional publications.

Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering from Carleton University and earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.