2014 Killam Prizes

The Killam Program at the Canada Council includes the Killam Research Fellowships, which support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in all fields of study. The Killam Trusts are valued at approximately $400 million, the income from which is largely applied to graduate scholarships, research fellowships and prizes for career achievement.

"Each of our laureates understands what it takes to make discoveries and to enhance our understanding. I am so impressed by the diversity of your efforts. You are variously working on vaccines, medical diagnostics, new technologies to address socio-economic challenges, new means of transmitting information, and new ways of improving the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. (...) "Through your efforts, Canada is a smarter, more caring nation."

Sajeev John (Natural Sciences) is a pioneering theoretician in photonic band gap (PBG) materials. This new class of optical materials sometimes referred to as “semiconductors of light,” presents exciting possibilities in the fields of physics, chemistry, engineering and medicine.

Andreas Mandelis (Engineering) is a leading scientist and engineer in diagnostic applications of lasers in applied physics, materials science and biomedical engineering. He is a pioneer in establishing the fields of diffusion-wave and photoacoustic sciences and technologies.

The history of relations between Canada’s indigenous and immigrant peoples over the past four centuries has been the focus of educator James R. Miller’s (Humanities)research and teaching. His insights on the ways in which Aboriginal peoples, especially First Nations, have reacted to and been affected by the policies of the federal government and Christian churches, provide a revealing window on this rich and challenging dimension of Canada’s history.

Francis Plummer (Health Sciences) is the chief scientific officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada, director of the National Microbiology Laboratory Winnipeg and a distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba. Best known as a tenacious HIV/AIDS researcher and vaccine crusader, he spearheaded the development of the world renowned “Manitoba-Nairobi HIV/AIDS Control Program.”

D. R. Fraser Taylor (Social Sciences) introduced the world to the power of cybercartography, an enhanced form of multimedia mapping using geographic information management, to deepen our understanding of socio-economic issues. In Canada and around the world, his cybercartographic atlases have delivered new perspectives and a way to comprehend complex issues such as trade and economic patterns, international development, and the risk of homelessness.

The Governor General presented the 2014 Killam Prizes to five eminent Canadian scholars during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. The Prizes were created to honour the career achievements of eminent Canadian scholars and scientists in five fields: health sciences, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and the humanities.