Dr. Rita Orji is the 2024 recipient of NSERC's Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship, the first researcher from Atlantic Canada to receive the award in five years. (Sussan Anukem photo)
Dr. Rita Orji, a professor and a Canada Research Chair in Dalhousie's Faculty of Computer Science, has been awarded the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
The fellowship recognizes Dr. Orji's groundbreaking work in novel personalized and adaptive digital interventions powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning and is accompanied by a research grant of $250,000 over the next two years.
The fellowship is named for Dalhousie alum and Nobel Prize laureate Arthur B. McDonald and is intended to further the careers of outstanding early-stage faculty members who have been in their positions for 10 years or less and who are highly regarded both nationally and internationally for their work in natural science and/or engineering. It is the most prestigious NSERC grant for early-career researchers.
Dr. Orji's research has earned her one of six fellowships awarded across Canada this year. She is the first Dalhousie researcher to receive the prize since Erin Johnson in 2019 (then called the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship).
Getting the news
Dr. Orji, who had just returned from leave a few months before making her application for the fellowship, says receiving the news was one of the most surreal moments of her life.
"I was screaming with joy without even remembering that the NSERC president was on the phone," she says with a laugh.
Dr. Orji, who has received numerous academic achievement awards, says the McDonald Fellowship holds a special place in her heart because of its emphasis on the quality and impact of her research.
"It is actually a very big incentive and motivation for me to keep working," she says. "I got into this research because I'm passionate about the work. To have people recognizing it and feeling like it's important, and to be recognized nationally feels really special."
Dr. Orji remembers coming to Canada for the first time as a graduate student in 2010. "I remember vividly that I didn't have a single publication to my name, and I had colleagues who were already well published," she says. "I felt a bit intimidated and scared, but I didn't let the fear win. And today I am receiving a national award. When I look back, I can hardly believe it."
Dr. Christian Blouin, acting dean of the Faculty of Computer Science, says having Dr. Orji in the faculty is an honour. "She is a role model for our colleagues and demonstrates how research in digital intervention can have an impact far and wide," he says.
The research
The fellowship is structured to allow Orji to take two years off teaching and devote herself wholly to her research project, which is entitled "AI-driven Adaptive Persuasive Digital Interventions for Health and Wellness."
She designs digital interventions mobile apps, games, virtual and augmented reality to empower and help people achieve different goals and objectives that are important to them.
And that last part is key: Dr. Orji's user-centered design ensures her interventions are not one-size-fits-all, but are individually tailored to each user's preferences, motivations, abilities, and even their cultural background. What motivates one user, she says, will not motivate another.
"Technology is not always designed to fit our worldview and lifestyles, and we, as people, end up struggling to use it," Orji says. "But we want to reflect who users are and help them find solutions to problems that are of importance to them, not to us. That's persuasive technology for promoting social and public good."
Dr. Alice Aiken, Dalhousie's vice president, research and innovation, says Dr. Orji's success in securing the fellowship is a testament to her vision and determination. "In a world where technology often pushes people apart, her work bridges digital divides to improve lives," says Dr. Aiken. "This fellowship is a recognition of leading-edge research driven by purpose and a commitment to creating bold, innovative tools that are a force for good in the world."
Looking forward
Dr. Orji is excited to get to work and plans to begin her fellowship period in the first few months of 2025. She is quick to point out that while she is the one receiving the award, getting to this point was not a solitary effort.
"I'm really so grateful to God Almighty, my family, the members of my research team, my collaborators, Dalhousie University and NSERC for their unfailing support all these years," she says. "This fellowship will enhance my capacity for innovation; it motivates me to keep researching and developing personalized, persuasive interventions and models that aim to solve key societal challenges."
