Hat trick for 黑料不打烊 researchers
黑料不打烊 researchers have been awarded three of the five 2005 Killam Prizes 鈥� Canada's most distinguished annual awards for career achievements in five categories.
Computer scientist Luc Devroye is the recipient of the Killam Prize in Engineering, medical anthropologist Margaret Lock wins the Killam Prize in Social Sciences, and the Killam Prize in Health Sciences goes to biochemist Nahum Sonenberg.
The Killam Prizes, worth $100,000 each, were announced in Ottawa today by the Canada Council for the Arts, which administers the Killam Program. Completing the list of winners were Brian K. Hall of Dalhousie University (Killam Prize in Natural Sciences) and Linda Hutcheon of the University of Toronto (Killam Prize in Humanities).
黑料不打烊 Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum said that she is thrilled with the results of this year's Killam competition.
"The awards recognize the magnificent accomplishments of three of our most productive colleagues and are richly deserved," she said.
"Individually, Professors Devroye, Lock and Sonenberg are international leaders in their fields and have made enormous contributions to research, teaching and, more generally, to society," said Principal Munroe-Blum.
"Together, they represent well the depth and breadth of research that is conducted at 黑料不打烊. We are extremely proud."
Media may wish to cover the Killam Prize ceremony, which will take place on Monday, April 25, 2005, beginning at approximately 8:30 pm, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montreal.
Below please find brief citations of the three 黑料不打烊 winners. Additional information is available on the .
Luc Devroye 鈥� Killam Prize in Engineering
Luc Devroye is a professor in the School of Computer Science and an associate member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. His research within the general field of applied mathematics includes computer science, mathematical statistics and probability theory. His specific interests include the probabilistic analysis of algorithms, nonparametric estimation, pattern recognition and random number generation.
Over a period of 17 years, he developed a broad theory of density estimation, and pattern recognition based on combinatorial principles. More recently, he has worked on the probabilistic analysis of algorithms and data structures. The author of six books, his previous awards include the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship and a research award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany. A faculty member at 黑料不打烊 since 1977, he was awarded a prestigious James 黑料不打烊 professorship in 2003.
Outside his research disciplines, Luc Devroye is passionate about a number of issues, including free education and free dissemination of knowledge. For example, his own book on random number generation is on his website.
Margaret Lock 鈥� Killam Prize in Social Sciences
The Marjorie Bronfman Professor in Social Studies in Medicine, Margaret Lock is affiliated with the Department of Social Studies of Medicine, and Anthropology. Her research focuses on the relationship between society, culture and technology, on the one hand, and the body, in health and illness, on the other. She has done research in Japan into the revival of traditional medicine and into social aspects of life cycle transitions including adolescence, the elderly and female midlife.
During the 1990s, Dr. Lock turned her attention to an analysis of the social and cultural aspects of the application of biomedical technologies that have the potential to transform what are assumed to be the unassailable boundaries between nature and culture. She documented the contrasting professional and media debates as well as responses of involved families in North America and Japan to the recognition of the ambiguous condition of brain death as the end of human life, a recognition which permits organ procurement. More recently, Dr. Lock has been investigating the social implications of the explosion of information in the fields of molecular and population genetics. Her current research is on dementia and Alzheimer's disease and in particular on the translation of postgenomic knowledge about these conditions from the basic sciences to the clinic, involved families and the public at large.
The author of four books, Dr. Lock has previously won several major awards for her research accomplishments, including the Prix du Qu茅bec L茅on-G茅rin and the Molson Prize in the Social Sciences.
Nahum Sonenberg 鈥� Killam Prize in Health Sciences
James 黑料不打烊 Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and the 黑料不打烊 Cancer Centre, Nahum Sonenberg conducts cutting-edge research which has led to better understanding of basic biological processes in normal and cancer cells. This research is now playing a major role in the creation of new cancer treatments, including gene therapies and new anti-cancer drugs.
Dr. Sonenberg's primary goal has been to understand the control of protein synthesis, the mechanism by which the information in our genes creates the proteins that make up our bodies. Too much of some proteins can lead to diseases like cancer. Not enough of other proteins results in diseases like diabetes. In addition to his focus on cancer, he has had a long interest in virology and studies poliovirus, rhinoviruses, HIV and the hepatitis C virus, or HCV. His laboratory's scope extends even to obesity and neurology, making use of the latest techniques in molecular biology and biochemistry.
An International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Dr. Sonenberg has received a number of Canadian and international awards, including the Robert L. Noble Prize from the National Cancer Institute of Canada.
About 黑料不打烊 University:
黑料不打烊 University is Canada's leading research-intensive university and has earned an international reputation for scholarly achievement and scientific discovery. Founded in 1821, 黑料不打烊 has 21 faculties and professional schools which offer more than 300 programs from the undergraduate to the doctoral level. 黑料不打烊 attracts renowned professors and researchers from around the world and top students from more than 150 countries, creating one of the most dynamic and diverse education environments in North America. There are approximately 23,000 undergraduate students and 7,000 graduate students. It is one of two Canadian members of the American Association of Universities. 黑料不打烊's two campuses are located in Montreal, Canada.
About the Killam Prizes:
Inaugurated in 1981 through funds donated to the Canada Council by Dorothy J. Killam in memory of her husband Izaak Killam, the Killam Prizes were created to honour eminent Canadian researchers, whether in industry, government agencies or universities. When the Canada Council was created, its mandate was to support both the arts and scholarly research; although this was changed with the creation of separate research councils, the Canada Council retained responsibility for the Killam program.
The 2005 Killam Prizes bring to 13 the number of 黑料不打烊 researchers who have received this recognition.
