Herzberg gold medal finalists named

Ottawa, ON – Three of Canada’s most renowned scientists are finalists for the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. Named for Canadian Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg, the annual prize is widely recognized as the country’s most prestigious science award. Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), today announced the three names:

– Richard Bond, of the University of Toronto, is one of the world’s leading cosmologists. He is responsible for major new insights into the origin and evolution of the interconnected cosmic web of galaxies we observe and the definitive role played by dark matter, dark energy and black holes. He has developed the theory and analysis of cosmic microwave background radiation fluctuations into a high precision tool for exploring the cosmos.

– Gilles Brassard, of the Universite de Montreal, is the father of quantum information processing in Canada and one of its earliest pioneers worldwide. This novel approach has the potential to usher in the most spectacular revolution in computer science since the invention of the transistor. Brassard’s most celebrated breakthroughs are the discovery of quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation, which are universally considered to be fundamental cornerstones of the entire theory.

– John Jonas, of McGill University, is a world leader in the high temperature deformation of metals. His ground-breaking studies have completely altered the understanding of thermomechanical processing of steel. His research has brought together studies of fundamental aspects of metal physics, as well as the issues of practical interest to steel manufacturers.

The NSERC Herzberg Medal will be awarded at a ceremony in Ottawa on March 19. The winner’s research funding will be increased to $1 million over the next five years.