Three scholars receive President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers

Three exceptional scholars at McGill University were awarded the 2026 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at convocation ceremonies held on May 28, May 29 and June 1. The annual prize recognizes early-career researchers who have distinguished themselves by their exceptional contributions to research. 

This year’s recipients are Mette Bendixen from the Department of Geography, Rachel Langevin from the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Kai Wang from the Department of Physics.

“McGill is proud to recognize Professors Bendixen, Langevin and Wang for their exceptional contributions to research and scholarship,” said Deep Saini, President and Vice-Chancellor. “Each of these outstanding researchers are advancing knowledge in ways that create real-world impact and inspire our entire community through the originality of their work, their leadership in their respective fields, and their drive to tackle complex challenges.” 

Administered by the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, the prize is awarded to up to three emerging scholars each year, with each receiving $5,000 in support of their research. 
 

Mette Bendixen: Understanding environmental change in a rapidly shifting world 

Mette Bendixen, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, leads interdisciplinary research at the intersection of geoscience and conservation. Her work focuses on land-cover dynamics, environmental urbanization and sustainability, with expertise in Arctic landscape changes and sediment dynamics in a changing climate. She also examines the rising global demand for sand and gravel, and the environmental challenges tied to resource extraction and sustainable development. 

Bendixen has given nearly 100 interviews across a wide range of platforms, from conversations with high school students to features in major international media outlets. She publishes regularly in leading scientific journals and has chaired seven international conferences. Most recently, she was selected to participate in Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s (CIFAR) Radical Interdisciplinarity: Arctic Horizons Workshop, in Geneva. 

She received the J. Ross Mackay Award from the Canadian Geomorphology Research Group in 2025 and the McGill Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Society’s “Most Outstanding Professor” Award in 2025. 

Rachel Langevin: Advancing research on family trauma and child well-being 

Rachel Langevin is an Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology – and the newly appointed Canada Research Chair in Intergenerational (Dis)Continuity of Childhood Trauma. She also serves as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Education. Her research examines family dynamics and the mechanisms driving the intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment and family violence, driving both scientific understanding and practical solutions. 

Langevin shares her expertise through extensive collaboration with research centres, practice settings and initiatives supporting children, youth and families affected by trauma, including the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les problèmes conjugaux et les agressions sexuelle, the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress and the Canadian Consortium on Child and Youth Trauma. She is a sought-after speaker at academic conferences and in the media, and her research is published in leading journals. 

She was awarded the Prix Émergence en recherche by the Société québécoise de recherche en psychologie (SQRP) in 2023. 

Kai Wang: Engineering the future of light-based technologies 

Kai Wang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, holds the Canada Research Chair in Quantum Photonics. From 2023 to 2026, he held a Research Chair in Quantum Photonics supported by Quebec’s Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie. His research explores how quantum mechanics shapes the behaviour of light and its interactions with matter. He develops programmable photonic hardware to generate, manipulate and measure complex quantum light fields for next-generation sensing and communication and information processing.  

Wang has built a strong publication record in leading refereed journals, including Science and Nature. He served as Vice Chair of the Optica Nanophotonics Technical Group from 2022 to 2024, Guest Editor of a focus issue of Journal of Optics from 2023 to 2024 and, since 2026, as an early-career editorial board member of Advanced Photonics.  

In 2024, he was named an Optica Foundation Challenge winner for his innovative project applying meta-imaging approaches to wildfire monitoring, demonstrating how advanced optical science can address urgent global challenges. 

PHOTO CAPTION: Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) Angela Campbell and Professor Mette Bendixen, President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Professor Rachel Langevin, President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Professor Kai Wang. Photos by Owen Egan.