Killam Prize winners

Considered the top academic prize in Canada, the Killam Prize distinguishes lifetime achievement and outstanding contribution to the advancement of knowledge in natural sciences, health sciences and engineering. For the second time, U of T has taken three of the four annual $75,000 prizes. University Professors Paul Brumer of chemistry and Fergus Craik of psychology and the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care won for the natural sciences, and Professor Tony Pawson, of medical genetics and microbiology and the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, won for health sciences.

Brumer is best known for the contributions he has made to theoretical chemical physics, an area which uses physics, mathematics and computer modelling to grasp the nature of chemical processes. In 1986, he and his colleague Professor Moshe Shapiro opened up a new branch of science – and a minor scientific industry – when they discovered how lasers can be used to encode quantum mechanical information into molecules so that they move toward a desired target.

Craik is being honoured for his work in uncovering the processes of memory and, more recently, the effects of aging on learning, attention and memory. Characterizing memory as a set of qualitatively different processes rather than a collection of stores or structures, Craik and colleague Robert Lockhart in 1972 proposed a framework for human memory research which has had a considerable impact on the field.

Pawson has conducted important studies of the basic mechanisms of cellular activity – showing how cells communicate with each other using protein-protein interactions – which have furthered the understanding of cancer, immune deficiencies, cardiovascular disorders and diabetes.

Royal Society of London fellows

Fellowships from the Royal Society of London are recognized worldwide as a sign of the highest regard in science. This year, two U of T researchers, Professor James Till of medical biophysics and the Ontario Cancer Institute at University Health Network and Professor Janet Rossant of molecular and medical genetics and the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, have been elected Fellows.

Rossant is widely known for her contributions to the creation of mouse models of human disease. Studies of diseases and mutations in mice, which are genetically 98% identical to humans, will ultimately help to find treatments and cures for complex genetic diseases, such as cancer.

Co-founder of the field of modern experimental hematology, Till and his colleague University Professor Emeritus Ernest McCulloch helped lay the foundation for the specification of the blood-forming stem cells that play a crucial role in bone marrow transplantation.

Guggenheim Fellows

The prestigious American Guggenheim Foundation provides fellowships for advanced professionals in all fields. This year, fellowships were awarded to University Professor James Arthur of mathematics, Professor Anthony Feinstein of psychiatry and Sunnybrook & Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, and Professor Sajeev John of physics.

Arthur, who was also the first mathematician to win the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council’s Canada Gold Medal, focuses on unifying the fields of algebra and analysis. To this end, he developed what became known worldwide as the "Arthur trace formula" and made it into a powerful tool for analyzing hidden ties among different kinds of mathematics.

John introduced the concept of localizing or "caging" light and initiated the field of photonic crystals, which steer the flow of light in the same way that electricity is steered through today’s micro-electronic circuits. This research may lead to the development of photonic computers using laser light instead of electric current to carry information.

Feinstein will be addressing mental health issues in post-apartheid Namibia. Focusing on those Namibians who were either forced into exile, detained or tortured during the liberation struggle, his aim is to facilitate local efforts with respect to research and treatment of trauma-related mental health problems.

Collège de France chair

The renowned Collège de France in Paris offers

50 permanent chairs to researchers in any field whose outstanding work has garnered international acclaim.

A former Guggenheim fellowship recipient and Fellow of the British Academy, philosophy professor Ian Hacking is the first anglophone ever to hold one of these prestigious chairs. Hacking’s eclectic work – which ranges from analyzing the social history of probability theory to exploring transient mental illnesses that flourish in different societies at different times – has influenced scholars internationally. Other chairholders have included such eminent scholars as Michel Foucault, Claude Levi-Strauss and Umberto Eco.

McLean Award

This highly competitive award is a $100,000 prize given annually to outstanding young researchers at U of T for their work in the basic sciences.

Regarded as one of the world’s leading up-and-coming mathematicians, Professor Lisa Jeffrey applies techniques from pure mathematics to better understand results from physics that are related to the laws governing the motion of physical systems. Her work applies to problems in mechanical systems, and is related to some problems in engineering.

– Althea Blackburn-Evans (with files from
The Bulletin, U of T Public Affairs)
Ian Hacking photograph: D. Cooper/Toronto Star