Canadian scientists win Killam Research Fellowships

Ottawa, ON – February 23, 2004 – Some of Canada’s top researchers have been awarded a total of $2 million in the 36th annual competition for Killam Research Fellowships, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

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.

Killam Research Fellowships enable Canada’s best scientists and scholars to devote two years to full-time research and writing. The recipients are chosen by the Killam selection committee, which comprises 15 eminent scientists and scholars representing a broad range of disciplines.

After considering 94 applications, the Killam selection committee says it chose nine researchers as new Killam Research Fellows for 2004. The following researchers were the ones winning in science-related categories:

Earth & Ocean Sciences:
– Clowes, Ron M, University of British Columbia: Revealing the Evolution of a Continent: Synthesis of Canada’s Lithoprobe Project

Physics:
– Guo, Hong, McGill University: Multi-Scale Modeling for Nanoelectronic Devices
– Thewalt, Mike, Simon Fraser University: Redefining the limits of semiconductor spectroscopy

Zoology:
– Sinclair, Anthony RE, University of British Columbia: Biodiversity change and ecosystem dynamics in the Serengeti, East Africa

The following science-related Killam Research Fellowships were renewed for a second year:

Biology:
– Griffith, Marilyn, University of Waterloo: Survival of Overwintering Plants
– Hall, Brian K, Dalhousie University Integration of Evolutionary Developmental Biology with Palaeontology: A New Science of the 21st Century

Chemistry:
– Burford, Neil, Dalhousie University: Understanding the Chemistry of Bio-active Bismuth
– Brook, Michael A, McMaster University: Combining Silicones with Biomolecules: Biocompatible and Biodegradable Copolymers with New, Beneficial Properties

Geochemistry
– Kerrich, Robert, University of Saskatchewan: Origin and Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere