JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

Dr. Sylvain Martel of Île Bizard was one of 83 individuals appointed to the Order of Canada last month.

A professor at the engineering university Polytechnique Montréal since 2001, Martel was named a member of the order, honouring his two decades of research on the use of nanorobotics in medical applications.

“It was a big surprise for me,” Martel said in a statement to The 1510 West. “This nomination is a great recognition, not only of the work and progress made in this new field, but also of the impact it could have.”

Martel has spent years in the school’s nanorobotics laboratory working in close collaboration with doctors and other medical specialists on the potential use of nanotechnology for cancer treatment. His research has looked into using nanorobots — some measuring no more than a micrometre (one-thousandth of a millimetre) — to access and administer medicine to cancerous cells via the patient’s bloodstream. This method, Martel said, is more precise and can avoid damaging healthy cells, a casualty  that normally occurs with chemotherapy.

Being named a member of the Order of Canada is not the first honour Martel has received for his research. He was named a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2009, awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013, as well as the Prix Génie Innovation from the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec in 2016. Martel also has won the Prix d’excellence en recherche et innovation from Polytechnique in 2018 and has been credited among the “10 discoveries of the year” twice by Québec Science magazine.

Martel earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, followed by a doctorate degree at McGill University. He also worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently resides in Île Bizard.

Martel was one of 83 individuals named as members, officers and companions of the Order of Canada – the highest civilian honour awarded to Canadian citizens. Among the appointees were 16 others from Quebec.

“We proudly recognize each of these individuals whose dedication and passion for service not only enrich our communities but also help shape the fabric of our nation,” said Governor General Mary Simon. “Together, they inspire us to strive for greatness and to foster a future filled with hope and possibility.”