Canadian scientists and scholars win Killam Research Fellowships (March 23, 2009)

Ottawa, ON – Nine Canadian researchers have been awarded a total of $1.26 million in the 42nd annual competition for Killam Research Fellowships, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Killam Research Fellowships, with a value of $70,000 a year, enable Canada’s best scientists and scholars to devote two years to full-time research. The fellowships are awarded to the individual recipients, but the funds are paid to and administered by universities or research institutes. The recipients are chosen by the Killam Selection Committee, which comprises 14 eminent scientists and scholars representing a broad range of disciplines.

In scientific fields, the new Killam Research Fellows for 2009 are:

Biology:
– Walter Herzog, University of Calgary: Applied Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics
– Natalie Strynadka, University of British Columbia: Structure-based Antibiotic Discovery on the Bacterial Membrane

Chemistry:
– Douglas Stephan, University of Toronto: Frustrated Lewis Pairs: A New Paradigm for Reactivity and Catalysis

Computer Science/Space Physics:
– David J Thomson, Queen’s University: Identification of Solar Gravity Modes

Mathematics:
– Walter Craig, McMaster University: Hamiltonian Dynamics in Mathematical Physics

Physics/Space Science:
– Robert Brandenberger, McGill University: New Approaches to Superstring Cosmology

Among Canada’s most distinguished research awards, the Canada Council for the Arts Killam Research Fellowships are made possible by a bequest of Mrs Dorothy J Killam and a gift she made before her death in 1965. The awards support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies within these fields.