Molly Sung, a PhD student in the Morris Group, has been named to the inaugural Youth Council for Canada's Chief Science Advisor, Dr. Mona Nemer. There were more than 1,000 applications from young Canadian scientists and Sung was one of 20 selected.
In their announcement today, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor outlined the Youth Council's mandate, which includes:
- Providing accurate and balanced views to the Chief Science Advisor (CSA) from the perspective of youth
- Bringing to the attention of the CSA and the Office of the CSA questions and issues related to the various groups that council members represent
- Identifying and informing the CSA on key issues and challenges facing the Canadian science community
- Advising on and taking part in outreach activities of the Office of the Chief Science Advisor
Sung joins two other University of Toronto researchers on the Youth Council.
"It was an important step when the Office of the Chief Science Advisor was re-introduced by this government in 2017," says Sung. "Because when scientists aren’t at the table for policy discussions, that vacuum can often be filled with information that isn’t evidence-based."
"I’m looking forward to contributing my voice not just from a chemistry point of view, but also as someone who has been in the trenches of advocacy, policy, and – yes! – politics for several years. I hope to continue my work advocating for evidence-informed decision making and bringing green chemistry principles to a wider audience – especially when it comes to climate action."