By McGill Reporter Staff
In a special event at the Montreal Science Centre yesterday, McGill honoured its most celebrated researchers of the past year amidst some shining examples of its brilliant research future.
Bravo 2009 was both a tribute to the University’s major prize and award winners of 2008 and a showcase for 24 current, groundbreaking research projects. Members of the McGill research community and invited guests were able to explore projects from every McGill faculty and meet the investigators behind them.
Before a presentation honouring the prize and award winners, McGill Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) Prof. Denis Thérien paid tribute to George Karpati, the Isaac Walton Killam Chair in Neurology at the Montreal Neurological Institute who passed away on Feb. 6.
“George was the incarnation of excellence,” Thérien told the packed house. “He was a model of what McGill is supposed to be.”
Outlining the accomplishments of McGill’s many award-winning researchers, Thérien got a laugh from the audience when he said, only half in jest, “Face it, we’re all better people for hanging around these talented people.”
The evening featured a musical performance by the Schulich Golden Violin trio, composed of the winners of the past three Golden Violin Awards. It was followed by the announcement of Chloé Dominguez as the 2008 Golden Violin Award winner.
Bravo also featured a keynote address delivered by Marc LePage, Consul general of Canada, San Francisco, Silicon Valley.
The 24 research projects on display yesterday now move to Redpath Hall, where they’ll be the featured attractions of the first-ever Excellence in Research Exhibition, which takes place today (Thursday, February 12th) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.