Leader of Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Wins Top Canadian Science Prize
Ottawa, Ontario, November 24, 2003 – Arthur McDonald
was today named winner of the 2003 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal
for Science and Engineering.
The prize guarantees that Dr. McDonald, a professor at Queen’s
University, will receive $1 million in research funding from the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
“Dr. McDonald was the driving force for the Sudbury Neutrino
Project, which has been such an outstanding international scientific
success story and a source of great pride for all Canadians,”
said Ottawa-Vanier M.P. Mauril Bélanger, who announced the award
on behalf of Allan Rock, Minister of Industry and Dr. Rey Pagtakhan,
Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development). “Like
Gerhard Herzberg, he has had an outstanding influence on science
in Canada and also on how Canadians perceive themselves as an innovative,
science-friendly nation.”
“Designing and building a large underground experiment to reveal
the ultimate truth about solar neutrinos was both a novel and high risk
endeavour,” said NSERC President Tom Brzustowski. “Yet
Art McDonald recognized that Canada had the ingredients to pull
it off, and he did. Thanks to his great abilities as a scientist, mentor,
leader and coordinator, we have an amazing scientific facility in Sudbury,
and Canada is recognized as a major training ground for particle, nuclear
and astrophysicists from around the world.”
Dr. McDonald will receive the Herzberg Medal at a gala dinner
tomorrow evening at the National Gallery of Canada. The event will also
feature an address by Canadian entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis.
For more information on Dr. McDonald’s achievements, visit
http://www.nserc.ca/about/award_e.htm.
The three finalists for the 2003 Herzberg award were Arthur McDonald,
John Smol, also of Queen’s University and Richard Bond
of the University of Toronto. Each receives the NSERC Award of Excellence
which consists of a crystal sculpture. Dr. Smol and Dr. Bond
also receive an additional $50,000 each in research support.
Dr. Bond is one of the world’s leading cosmologists. He
is responsible for major new insights into the nature of dark matter
and black holes and for greatly expanding our knowledge of the structure
and evolution of the early universe.
Dr. Smol transformed paleolimnology and the study of ancient lake
sediments into one of the hottest fields in ecology and a powerful tool
for revealing how aquatic organisms interact with their environment
and respond over time to climate change.
The Medal selection process involved both international peer review
of the nominees and adjudication by a distinguished NSERC jury. This
year’s panel was chaired by Dr. Gretchen Harris, a member
of NSERC’s Council and a professor at the University of Waterloo.
Tomorrow night’s event will also celebrate the achievements of
major prize winners announced earlier in the year.
NSERC Steacie Fellowships are awarded to outstanding Canadian university
scientists or engineers who have earned their doctorate within the last
12 years. The 2003 winners are Michel Gingras (University
of Waterloo), Zongchao Jia (Queen’s University), Victoria Kaspi
(McGill University), Molly Shoichet (University of Toronto), Gary Saunders
(University of New Brunswick) and Kim Vicente (University of Toronto).
Ryan Gregory (who earned his doctorate at the University of Guelph
) is being honoured as this year’s recipient of the $20,000
NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize. The prize was created by
the first winner of the Herzberg Medal.
The four NSERC Doctoral Prize Silver Medalists are David Bryce
(doctorate from Dalhousie University), Erik Demaine (doctorate
from the University of Waterloo), Martin Dvorak (doctorate from
Simon Fraser University), and David Vocadlo (doctorate from the
University of British Columbia). The medals and a $10,000 cash
prize are awarded for the best doctoral work completed in science and
engineering at a Canadian university last year.
NSERC is a key federal agency investing in people, discovery, and innovation.
Over the last 10 years it has invested $5 billion in basic
research, university-industry projects, and the training of Canada’s
next generation of scientists and engineers.
For photos and more background information on all the award winners,
visit http://www.nserc.gc.ca/award_e.asp?nav=herzberg&lbi=about.
Media Contacts:
Arnet Sheppard
Tel.: (613) 995-5997
Francis Lionnet
Tel.: (613) 992-9001
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