Wladimir-A.-Smirnoff Fellowship – Biological control

Smirnoff Fellowship

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The Wladimir A. Smirnoff Fellowship is a joint initiative of the Société de protection des forêts contre les insectes et maladies (SOPFIM) and Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service (NRCan – CFS).

A $5,000 fellowship will be awarded annually to each of two Master’s or Ph.D. students in biological forest pest control (insects and diseases) at a Quebec university.

The deadline for submission of applications is February 28th of each year.

The names of the award winners will be announced at the end of March, and the fellowships will be available as soon as the recipients enroll in the programs.

At the request of the two funding organizations, the award winners should agree to participate in promotional activities.

NOTE: In order to allow a recipient to complete his/her research project, the award winner may submit an application for a second consecutive year. To do so, he/she must complete and return the application form along with a satisfactory progress report before November 15. If the report is considered to be satisfactory by the two funding organizations, and if sufficient funds are available, the fellowship will be renewed.

Wladimir A. Smirnoff (1917 - 2000), the scientist

A native of Russia, Wladimir A. Smirnoff became interested in forest pest control at an early age. After pursuing graduate and doctoral studies in forestry at St. Petersburg State University, he left his country for 10 years of productive research at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Morocco while completing a doctoral degree in science at the Sorbonne in Paris.

In 1957, he accepted a position as an insect pathology researcher with the Canadian Forest Service - Laurentian Forestry Centre. Over the next 28 years, he made a significant contribution to the development and recognition of insect pathology.

His great contribution to biological forest pest control was made possible by his powers of persuasion in promoting the use of Bacillus thuringiensis, a microbial insecticide, to control spruce budworm, the most destructive insect in the coniferous forests of North America. During his career, Wladimir A. Smirnoff published more than 300 scholarly articles and won many awards, including the prix Léo-Pariseau presented by the Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des sciences. He was a lifetime member of the Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec, member emeritus of the Société d’entomologie du Québec and of the Association des biologistes du Québec, researcher emeritus at the Centre de recherche en biologie forestière de l’Université Laval, researcher emeritus at the Canadian Forest Service and named a member of the Order of Canada in 1997.

A prolific researcher, Wladimir A. Smirnoff was above all a nature lover, and was particularly fond of the Laurentian forest. His splendid paintings, infused with delightful flowers, dreams and symbols, reflect this love.

The fellowship that bears his name will be awarded for the pursuit and promotion of research in the fields that captured the interest of this great scientist.

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must:

be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
have an undergraduate degree or be close to obtaining one;
be enrolled in a full-time program at the graduate or post-graduate level in a Quebec university during the year following the application, for at least two semesters;
study biological forest pest control (development of biological pesticides, development of new control strategies, development of application technologies for biological pesticides, improvement of knowledge of the ecology and physiology of pests, etc.);
have the support of a research director for the project.

Selection criteria

Provisional list of selection criteria:

Quality of the academic record;
Relevance of the project;
Contribution of the proposed research to the advancement of knowledge in the field of biological forest pest control;
Value of the proposed project;
Candidate’s ability to complete the project;
Logistical and financial feasibility of the project;
Uniqueness of the project.

Additional information to provide

Attach an appendix entitled Research experience. Include the following:

Position held;
Description of duties;
Work location;
Contact information for immediate supervisor;
Period of employment.
Letters of support from the thesis director and from an immediate supervisor about the applicant's work experience to illustrate his or her ability to complete the project.

Attach an appendix entitled Research project description. Include the following:

Description of the project;
Work plan, schedule and research budget;
Institution involved in the project;
Contact information for the research director;
Contact information for joint managers and/or partner scientists.

Registration instructions

Complete on screen the registration form (PDF format, 90 kb), print it and send it, along with the requested documents (see previous section), to:

WLADIMIR A. SMIRNOFF FELLOWSHIP
SOPFIM
1780 Semple
Quebec City, Quebec G1N 4B8

NOTE: Registration forms and information sheet (PDF format, 57 kb) that gives the eligibility and selection criteria are available from the SOPFIM office or the eligible universities.