Dr. Madison Rilling is Director of Strategic Development and Financing at Femtum, a Québec City-based deep tech scale-up building the laser technology powering a new generation of semiconductor and photonics manufacturing. These are precision tools at the heart of a shift toward faster, greener computing infrastructure. She serves on the Board of Directors of CMC Microsystems and as a member of Council of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), roles through which she helps shape how Canada builds and funds its semiconductor and advanced technology capacity.
She joined Femtum after five years as Executive Director of Optonique, the nonprofit driving the strategic growth of Québec’s photonics sector, home to nearly 50% of Canada’s light-based technology industry. There she facilitated R&D collaborations, innovation and workforce policy development, and science outreach, and represented Canada’s photonics sector on international advisory councils. She also sits on the Council of Canadian Academies’ Scientific Advisory Committee, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies’ Scientific Committee, and the scientific advisory committees of Québec’s innovation zones in quantum (DistriQ) and digital technologies (Technum).
Recognized as an emerging leader bridging science and policy, Dr. Rilling is a recipient of the Optica Pivoting Fellowship (2021), a Fellow of Action Canada (2023), and was one of two Canadians among 30 leaders selected for an immersive science diplomacy program at the United Nations in Geneva (2023). A long-standing advocate for the next generation of scientists, she served as student advisor to Québec’s Chief Scientist, as a member and mentor of the Chief Science Advisor’s Youth Council, and now sits on the board of Let’s Talk Science, a national organization helping youth build the skills they need for their own and Canada’s future success.
She holds a Joint Honours in Mathematics and Physics (McGill, 2014), a Master’s in Medical Physics (ULaval, 2016), and a PhD in Physics (ULaval, 2020).