2011 Killam Prize Winners
Professor Gilles Brassard – Université de Montréal – Natural Sciences
Photo: Sharon Braverman
Professor Gilles Brassard is "one of Canada's science superstars" according to British astronomer David Darling. When many quantum physicists were only beginning to formulate their theories, Professor Brassard was already devising real world applications for his own quantum theories. Today, he is acknowledged as one of the world's foremost computer scientists and best known pioneers in the field of quantum information science, in particular for his invention of quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation.
In 1984, along with Charles H. Bennett, Professor Brassard developed the BB84 protocol, which is the most secure method of encrypting information for confidential transfer from one party to another. Their discovery was named one of the "10 emerging technologies that will change the world" by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003. More recently, he has been working on the theoretical and experimental investigation of the art of flipping coins by use of quantum-mechanical phenomena. He dreams of new foundations for quantum mechanics based on information-theoretic principles.
Currently serving his second term as Canada Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, Professor Brassard's many awards and honours include the Prix Marie-Victorin – the highest recognition by the Government of Québec in natural sciences and engineering – and the 2009 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1996, Professor Brassard has been a leading faculty member of the Université de Montréal for three decades. In 2006, he became the first Canadian to join the rank of Fellows of the International Association for Cryptologic Research.
Speech
"I would first like to congratulate the other four laureates who are being honoured today, keenly aware that I am the first computer scientist in more than a quarter century to receive the Killam Prize in natural sciences.
Quantum mechanics is perhaps the most profound revolution ever to occur in our understanding of Nature." more...
Internationally known for his genetic research, Dr. Michael Hayden is best described as a humanitarian, one of those rare individuals whose life's work has bridged theory and practice. He is known as someone not averse to risk-taking, particularly when confronted with patients who were once left to wonder whether they too might be afflicted with genetic diseases such as Huntington, coronary artery disease and other rare disorders.
Dr. Hayden's scientific career began with investigations of Huntington disease and his discovery of neuroendocrine abnormalities. Ultimately, his research led to predictive testing for this devastating disease. His later work has also contributed much to our understanding and gene identification of atherosclerosis, Huntington disease and inherited lipid disorders, in which harmful amounts of fatty materials called lipids accumulate in the body.
The Director and Senior Scientist with the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics at UBC, Dr. Hayden is also the founder of three successful biotechnology companies. One of those companies, Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Inc., tests existing medications as potential treatments for people suffering from what are often referred to as "orphan" diseases, conditions so rare they are often overlooked by the medical and research communities. He is also involved in the international fundraising effort for a community centre for HIV/AIDS-affected children in his native South Africa.
Dr. Hayden is the current Canada Research Chair in Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine and 2011 recipient of the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award for leadership in medical science in Canada.
Keren Rice – University of Toronto – Humanities
Photo: Diana Tyszko
Professor Keren Rice literally wrote the book on the Slavey (Dene) language, one of the official languages of Canada's Northwest Territories. A Grammar of Slave, a detailed study of the grammar of the Dene language was awarded the Bloomfield Book Award by the Linguistic Society of America and is still used some 20 years after publication. Her work has been critical in documenting one of Canada's living languages, an important element of our rich Aboriginal heritage.
Professor in Linguistics and founding Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Initiatives at the University of Toronto, she has dedicated the last 30 years to her study of the Dene language, and has been engaged in work to maintain and revitalize the language. She served on a committee that standardized the Dene writing system and has worked with a team to develop teaching materials for language teachers. In addition, she compiled a dictionary of one dialect of Dene.
Professor Rice has also conducted in-depth research that helps to unlock the highly sophisticated system of word formation in Dene and related languages. Professor Rice is the editor of the International Journal of American Linguistics and is now serving her second term as Canada Research Chair in Linguistics and Aboriginal Studies. Professor Rice was president of the Canadian Linguistics Association (1998-2000) and, in 2008, was named a fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. She is further distinguished as the first person from a university outside of the United States to be elected to the position of President of the Linguistic Society of America.
Speech
"Many years ago I served as a member of the Killam panel, and I learned about the Killam Prize and what an amazing gift Dorothy Killam had left to the country. Little did I dream that one day I would be chosen for this remarkable prize." More...
Dr. Lotfollah Shafai – University of Manitoba – Engineering
Photo: Mike Latschislaw, University of Manitoba
Acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative antenna researchers, Dr. Lotfollah Shafai's ground-breaking research has led to a range of developments that are already in wide use in the broadband wireless and satellite communication industries.
Dr. Shafai is Canada's leading expert in the field of applied electromagnetic and radiating systems. His early work led to the development of the first generation picoterminals for the Canadian Hermes satellite – ultra-small fully portable satellite ground stations with antennas now in use around the globe, making direct satellite broadcasting accessible to the public. The ability to broadcast from anywhere in the world via satellite phone systems was also developed by Dr. Shafai's team, giving broadcast journalists the unique opportunity to deliver live coverage from remote locations across all continents.
His research, in addition to telecommunications, has contributed to the advancement of new technologies, smart structures, remote sensing, telemedicine and medical imaging. He also spearheaded the establishment of the premier Canadian conference on telecommunications, antennas and microwaves.
In recent years, Dr. Shafai's work has also focused on the electromagnetic mapping of Arctic sea ice. His research team is providing critical data for understanding the effects of climate-warming trends and more accurate predictions of the seasonal behavior of Arctic ice.
Dr. Shafai received his PhD in Applied Sciences from the University of Toronto and is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is a Canada Research Chair in Applied Electromagnetics and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Canadian Academy of Engineers, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Royal Society of Canada.
Speech
"I would like to thank the Killam Trusts and the Canada Council for the Arts for this very special honour. I share this award with the many students and colleagues who have worked with me and continue to work as effective teams on multiple projects in my field of Applied Electromagnetics." More...
Photo: Chris Hughes, University of Waterloo
Professor Mark P. Zanna is one of only a handful of academic social psychologists whose theories have been applied to major social issues such as racial prejudice. Described by his peers as one of the leading social psychologists in Canada, he is among the most cited social psychologists in the world.
Professor Zanna's research is enabling Canadians to better respond to some of the most challenging social issues of our time. Through his collaborative work on the International Tobacco Control Policy Survey, a population-based, national survey undertaken in 14 countries, he and his colleagues have made important contributions to the evaluation of national tobacco control policies. Professor Zanna has also evaluated Canada's cigarette warning labels and tested the subtle effects of movie stars' smoking in films.
Professor Zanna has given research into social attitudes momentum and direction. He and his colleagues are credited with establishing one of the world's top social psychology programs at the University of Waterloo.
Over his impressive career, Professor Zanna has earned many awards and accolades, including the Canadian Psychological Association's prestigious Donald O. Hebb Award for distinguished contributions to psychology as a science. He was the first Canadian to serve as President of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, the largest organization of social and personality psychologists in the world, and the first Canadian elected to the position of President of the international Society of Experimental Social Psychology. In 1999, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Speech
"First, I want to thank the Killam Prize adjudication committee for bestowing this great honour on me. Second, I need to thank my graduate school mentors at Yale, who helped lay the foundation of my career, my faculty colleagues at Princeton, who helped me launch my career, and my facultly colleagues at Waterloo, who nurtured and sustained my career over the past 36 years." More...