At ceremonies held in Ottawa on November 28 and 29, 2009, the Royal Society of Canada recognized the achievements of four McGill researchers.
Brian Alters, director of McGill University’s Tomlinson Project in University-Level Science Education, received the 2009 McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science. The medal was presented to Alters for his world-famous work on the promotion of education about evolution. “The study and practice of science is based on observation, measurement and logical conclusions,” says Alters. “My goal is to make science less threatening to people.”
The Royal Society also elected 77 new Fellows into its ranks, including:
■ Bruce Reed (School of Computer Science) for his contributions in the areas of discrete mathematics and probabilistic combinatorics.
■ Vincent Giguère (Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre) for his leading work in the field of nuclear receptors, which has led to major advances in our understanding of hormone-dependent cancers and metabolic disorders.
■ Allan Sniderman (McGill University Health Centre, Division of Cardiology) for introducing apolipoprotein B, now recognized as the superior cholesterol marker, into clinical practice worldwide.
The Royal Society of Canada is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists; in November 2009, McGill’s Roderick A. Macdonald became the RSC’s new president and the first law professor to hold the position. The primary objective of the RSC is the promotion of learning and research in the arts and sciences. The RSC’s nearly 2,000 Fellows are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, in the arts and in the humanities. As Canada’s national academy, the RSC exists to recognize academic excellence, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote Canadian culture.