Canada 150: Science sovereignty, unveiling the atom and Canadian inventors
More Canada 150 reflections on our scientific legacy, from members of the Royal Society of Canada.
More Canada 150 reflections on our scientific legacy, from members of the Royal Society of Canada.
Dr. Chad Gaffield, is Professor of History and University Research Chair in Digital Scholarship at the University of Ottawa, and also President-elect of the Royal Society of Canada. He marks the fact that 50 years ago Canada's research community was essentially an academic colony. But building from momentum around our 100th anniversary, we have developed domestically a strong and globally respected science research community.
Dr. Marie D'Iorio, a Condensed Matter Physicist and Senior Strategy Advisor at the University of Ottawa, celebrates Canadian achievements in spectroscopy — the use of light to determine make-up of atoms and molecules. Beginning with Ernest Rutherford at McGill, through the work of several Nobel prize winners including Bertram Brockhouse and John Polyani, this has been a major strength in Canadian Science.
Dr. Alidad Amirfazli, a Professor of Engineering at York University in Toronto, celebrates a range of Canadian inventors. From Joseph Coyle's invention of the egg carton, to the development of the gas mask in World War I, to canola oil, insulin for diabetics and the rotary vane pump, there is a long list of Canadian innovations to celebrate.