One demonstrates undisputed leadership in the field of North American sustainable transportation. The other is neither more nor less than an apostle of the alternation of studies and internships in his environment for more than twenty years. She, despite her young age, is an assistant professor of geomatics and collaborates with NASA. And finally, in addition to having co-founded a profitable and responsible company, he is developing a drug once morest severe forms of COVID-19.
Established in 2021 by the Internships and Professional Development Department, the Coop inspiration awards aim to inspire those who follow in the footsteps of former interns from the University of Sherbrooke. The announcement of the winners takes place each year as part of Cooperative Education Month, which is celebrated across the country.
“It is with pride that we announce today the recipients of the 2022 Coop inspiration awards. Each year, we wish to highlight the exceptional achievements of graduates who made their debut within the cooperative plan of the University of Sherbrooke. Since 1966, the coop has made a significant contribution to the development of the professionals of tomorrow, and we want to show our interns that anything is possible from significant work experience gained during their university career”, comments the General Manager of the Internship and professional development, Alain Tremblay.
Martin Larose / Leadership
Martin Larose, President of Novabus
Martin Larose has been President of Nova Bus since October 2021. This Volvo Group subsidiary is one of the largest providers of sustainable public transit solutions in North America, in particular thanks to its range of electric and hybrid buses, large vehicles capacity and integrated intelligent transport systems. Nova Bus, and by extension Mr. Larose, are at the center of the electric shift in urban buses initiated in the province, in particular thanks to an envelope of more than $5 billion that will be invested by the Qubec government by 2030 to the electrification of public transport. Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Sherbrooke in 1995, he manages more than 1,500 employees in a booming industry.
David W. Tremblay / Commissioner
David W. Tremblay is Chief Investment Officer and Senior Associate Vice President at Intact Financial Corporation. This bachelor’s degree (1999) and master’s degree in finance (2000) has climbed the ladder one by one since joining Intact in 2001. He had also completed two cooperative internships there during his university career. Intact Financial Corporation is one of the main employer partners of the Universit de Sherbrooke, where regarding fifteen interns learn the basics of their future profession each semester, more than 40 annually. Strongly attached to his alma mater, Mr. Tremblay sits on the board of directors of the Fondation de l’Universit de Sherbrooke and has been chairman of its investment committee since November 2009.
Myriam Lemelin / rising canvas
Myriam Lemelin is an assistant professor in applied geomatics at the University of Sherbrooke. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in geomatics applied to the environment (2010) and a master’s degree in geographical sciences (2013) obtained from the University of Sherbrooke as well as a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Hawaii and a post-doctorate at York University, the young holder of the Canada Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Northern and Spatial Geology is interested in the remote sensing of the geology, water resources and soil properties of the Moon, astrodes and planet Mars in preparation for future space exploration missions. The 36-year-old researcher is a scientific collaborator for the laser altimeter on board NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, in orbit around the astrode Bennu. She is also a member of the Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE), part of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI).
Jean-Franois Larrive / Entrepreneurship
Jean-Franois Larrive is co-founder and vice-president and director of operations of Immune Biosolutions. This Sherbrooke company develops biological drugs that can transform and save lives. The innovative technology used by the company of this graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology engineering (2007) allows it to take advantage of the immune system of chickens to create safe and functional humanized antibodies for several therapeutic areas, such as infectious diseases and oncology. Immune Biosolutions has also developed a promising treatment for COVID-19 for which phase 1 clinical trials are underway. Antibodies developed and administered by inhalation have the potential to neutralize and eliminate COVID-19 and its variants by acting in a highly targeted manner with respect to the lungs. Immune Biosolutions has been hiring interns and graduates from the University of Sherbrooke on a continuous basis since 2017.
