The 2013 Killam Prizes

His Excellency presented the 2013 Killam Prizes to five eminent Canadians during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on April 23, 2013.

Mr. George T.H. Cooper, Managing Trustee of the Killam Trusts, delivered brief remarks and congratulated the laureates.

Mr. Robert Sirman, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts, also delivered remarks and congratulated the laureates.

Dr. Lorne Babiuk, University of Alberta - Health Sciences

Lorne Babiuk is a world leader in the area of vaccinology. One of the numerous vaccines that he developed laid the foundation for a rotavirus vaccine for children. Before vaccination, over 500,000 children died each year from rotavirus. His vaccine saves the cattle industry in North America $300 million a year. He is a global authority in infectious diseases, particularly virology, immunology and vaccine delivery. He has founded an internationally recognized research institute, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), and more recently a $140 million dollar bio-containment facility which is the only one of its kind in Canada. He continues to contribute to the advancement of the health of humans and animals. In addition to being the Vice-President (Research) at the University of Alberta, he serves on numerous committees, helping to set science policy in Canada and around the world.

Dr. John McGarry, Queen’s University - Social Sciences

John McGarry is universally recognized as one of the world’s top authorities on power-sharing, federalism, and conflict resolution. He has played an important role in shaping Northern Ireland’s successful peace process, particularly in the crucial area of policing reform. His co-authored book Explaining Northern Ireland is widely seen as the most influential work on the subject over the past two decades. In 2008, he was appointed as the first ever Senior Advisor on Power-Sharing to the United Nations (Mediation Support Unit), and he is currently the main advisor on governance in the UN-led negotiations in Cyprus. John McGarry is currently writing a book on power-sharing theory. He is also supportive of the development of a more integrated approach to conflict resolution, by encouraging interaction between specialists in different areas such as disarmament, economic reconstruction and the appropriate treatment of refugees. This research is aimed at influencing the UN’s work in the field.

Prof. Witold Pedrycz, University of Alberta - Engineering

Computational Intelligence, a comprehensive framework for analysis and design of human-centric intelligent systems, is Witold Pedrycz’s area of specialization. He is a widely recognized world leader in this field and has made a number of pioneering and influential contributions. He has developed fundamental concepts and algorithmic foundations in the disciplines forming the essence of Computational Intelligence. These include neurocomputing, which provides a wealth of learning mechanisms, and fuzzy sets, which support human-like reasoning by processing linguistic information. The goal of his research activities is the development of hybrid intelligent systems that exhibit different levels of learning and are capable of taking the factor of uncertainty (information granularity) into account.

Prof. Richard Peltier, University of Toronto - Natural Sciences

Physicist Richard Peltier is a pioneer in the establishment of the field of Earth System Science, a revolution in Earth Science built on the premise that the Earth and its climate are understandable only through cross-disciplinary research. Over the course of his career, he has attacked a wide range of interrelated issues in the areas of atmospheric and oceanic waves and turbulence, geophysical fluid dynamics, physics of the planetary interior, and planetary climate. Richard Peltier is listed by Science Watch as one of the most highly cited Earth Scientists internationally. He is director of the Centre for Global Change Science, principal investigator of the Polar Climate Stability Network, and the Scientific Director of Canada’s largest supercomputer centre, SciNet.

Dr. Paul Thagard, University of Waterloo - Humanities

One of the most influential cognitive scientists in Canada, philosopher Paul Thagard is among the top researchers building theories of thinking worldwide. He has been crossing the divide between the humanities and sciences for over 30 years, linking fundamental philosophical issues to scientific questions about the nature of the mind and brain. Paul Thagard pioneered the philosophical use of computer models to help understand the structure and growth of scientific knowledge. A prolific writer, he has contributed to research in analogy and creativity, cognition in the history of science, and the role of emotion in thinking. He has investigated the relevance of psychology and neuroscience for ethical questions about morality and the meaning of life. His research has yielded 10 books and some 200 scholarly articles, many highly cited. He is currently working on new theories of emotion, intention, and consciousness.

The Canada Council Killam Prizes are awarded annually for the outstanding career achievements of Canadian scholars in health sciences, engineering, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. These awards were inaugurated in 1981, through a donation by Mrs. Dorothy J. Killam, in memory of her husband, Izaak Walton Killam. The prizes were created to honour Canadian scholars and scientists actively engaged in research, whether in industry, government agencies or universities.