Awards, honours and happenings

Professor R. Paul Young,a world-renowned engineer specializing in seismology and rock mechanics,has been appointed U of T’s Vice-President, Research. Young has been chair of U of T’s Department of Civil Engineering since 2004 and holds the Keck Chair of Seismology and Rock Mechanics.An outstanding scientist and teacher,Young was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2007.A native of Britain,Young was recruited to U of T in 2002 as the founding director of the Lassonde Institute for Engineering Geoscience,an international centre of excellence that draws on expertise across multiple disciplines.As chair of Civil Engineering, he led the development of the department’s new framework for urban engineering, building cities that work for people. His leadership of the department was singled out for high praise by external reviewers in 2005 and 2006.He was previously chair of Earth Sciences at the University of Liverpool and head of Earth Sciences at Keele University in the U.K.He also established the Geomechanics and Rock Physics Laboratory at Queen’s University in Kingston,Ont.

Noted researcher Richard Florida has joined U of T’s Rotman School of Management.Florida will be professor and the academic director of the Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School.Well-known for his work on economic competitiveness,demographic trends and cultural and technological innovation, Florida is the author of the international bestseller The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class.Florida is also the founder of the Creative Class Group, a global think tank based in Washington,D.C.He was previously Hirst Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and taught for nearly 20 years at Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

The Royal Society of Canada has elected 78 new fellows and 12 of them come from U of T.Named to the Academy of Arts and Humanities are James Brown of Philosophy and Ian Lancashire of English. Joining the Academy of Social Sciences are Gary Crawford of Anthropology at U of T Mississauga,Kenneth Leithwood of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Peter Singer of Bioethics and Barry Wellman of Sociology.Named to the Academy of Sciences are John Mylopoulos of Computer Science, Paul Young of Civil Engineering, Theodore Shepherd of Physics, Lisa Jeffrey of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at U of T Scarborough, Eugenia Kumacheva of Chemistry and Peter Martin of Astronomy and Astrophysics.Other honourees include John Challis of Physiology,who was awarded the McLaughlin Medal, recognizing important research of sustained excellence in medical science,and Gregory Scholes of Chemistry,who was named winner of the Rutherford Memorial Medal in Chemistry for outstanding research in physics and chemistry.

Two eminent U of T scholars,Frank Iacobucci and Doreen Hall,have been appointed to the Order of Canada. Iacobucci was named a Companion,the Order’s highest designation. Iacobucci’s long association with U of T includes postings as Interim President (2004-2005) and Dean of the Faculty of Law (1973-75 and 1979-83). He was chief justice of the Federal Court of Canada from 1988 to 1991 and a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1991 until his retirement in 2004. Hall, appointed a Member of the Order, is a renowned music educator at U of T and the Royal Conservatory of Music and violinist who introduced the teaching method of German composer Carl Orff to North America.She translated and published materials on this approach,which is based on the belief that all children can learn music.

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· Connaught Fund · Canadian Institutes of Health Research · Faculty of Arts and Science

· Health Canada · Microsoft Research · Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

· Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada · Chancellor Jackman Research Fellowship in the Humanities

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