What an honour and incredible acknowledgment of our research – Thilo received the 2017 E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship Award with five fellow scientists in Canada and across the Natural Sciences and Engineering. This is one of the most prestigious awards for young scientists in Canada, celebrating the critical role of fundamental, basic research for driving innovation. For a write-up about Thilo’s contributions see here. Thank you NSERC, and thank you Canada !! – it was an unforgettable experience to see how Canada’s parliamentarians in the House of Commons acknowledged Scientists and the role of basic sciences for society, and how an impressively knowledgeable Prime Minister Trudeau and Science Minister Duncan succeeded to inspire and impress Scientists on their mission to make a difference to the lives of people in the short- and in the long-term!