The Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award was created to honour the memory of Ms. Ward. The intent of the award is to encourage and support a graduate student in Canada whose thesis is likely to increase our knowledge of the geological history of Canada through mapping.
The award, comprising $5,000 and a certificate, is given annually and honours the memory of Mary-Claire Ward who died in 2004. At the time of her death Mrs. Ward was the chair of the PDAC’s geoscience committee, chairman of Watts Griffis McOuat Ltd., and a past president of the Geological Association of Canada. She was a passionate advocate for the geosciences in Canada.
The award is administered by the Geological Association of Canada (GAC), the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), the National Geological Surveys Committee, the Canadian Geological Foundation, and Watts, Griffis and McOuat Ltd.
The Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award is awarded annually to a graduate student at a Canadian university whose thesis incorporates geoscience mapping as a significant component.
https://pdac.ca/students/financial-support/mary-claire-ward-geoscience-award
Applications for the 2026 competition will open October 1, 2025.
For more information contact Krishana Michaud kmichaud@pdac.ca
2025 Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award Winner
Margaret Laverge, Laurentian University
Maggie’s M.Sc. thesis examines the structural controls on gold mineralization at the Great Bear Deposit, located 25 km south of Red Lake in northwestern Ontario. Her research integrates detailed outcrop mapping, regional structural mapping, petrography, and U-Pb geochronology. The study aims to establish the deposit’s structural evolution, identify controls on mineralization, and contextualize it within the Red Lake Greenstone Belt, while also providing both relative and absolute timing constraints on gold mineralization.
Previous Award Winners
2024: Ludovico Scorsolini, University of Waterloo
2023: Darius Kamal, University of British Columbia
2022: Benjamin Neil, University of Alberta
2021: Rebecca Canam, Simon Fraser University
2020: Kendra Zammit, Laurentian University
2019: Andrew Steiner, University of British Columbia
2018: Eric Thiessen, Simon Fraser University
2017: Holly Steenkamp, Laval University
2016: Jordan McDivitt, Laurentian University
2015: Jesse Reimink, University of Alberta
2014: Diane Skipton, University of Ottawa
2013: Danielle Thomson, Carleton University
2012: Deanne van Rooyen, Carleton University
2011: Brett Hamilton, University of Calgary
2010: Joel Cubley, University of Calgary
2009: Elizabeth Westberg, Simon Fraser University
2008: Jean-François Ravenelle, Laval University
2007: Andrew Parmenter, University of New Brunswick
2006: Tony Barresi, Dalhousie University
2005: Michelle DeWolfe, Laurentian University