Ottawa, February 22, 2012 – The winners of the 2012 Killam Research Fellowships will tackle important research projects, four of which are in the areas of ecology and the environment. The Canada Council for the Arts, which administers the Fellowships, announced that a total of close to $1 million has been awarded for the seven selected projects.
The Fellowships, among Canada’s most distinguished research awards, provide $70,000 a year for two years to each of the researchers. They enable researchers to be released from teaching and administrative duties so that they can pursue independent research.
The recipients were chosen by the Killam Selection Committee, which included 15 eminent scientists and scholars representing a broad range of disciplines. The following individuals were selected from 95 applications:
Colin Chapman, McGill University
Primate Conservation: future scenarios of population change given changing disease, climate, and park management strategies
Colin Chapman plans to explore risk factors to the primate population as a result of ecological transformations, putting emphasis on disease transmission from primates to humans and vice-versa. Contact with primates has lead to the introduction of new diseases in the human population, such as HIV and Ebola. He will be working at Kibale National Park in Uganda, where he is coordinator and co-founder of a health and conservation project. He is an internationally recognized leader in studies of primate behaviour and ecology.
Michel Gingras, University of Waterloo
Emerging Classical and Quantum Electrodynamics Effects in Magnetic Pyrochlore Oxides
The fellowship will enable Michel Gingras to pursue studies on what are called Highly Frustrated Magnetic Materials. He is known worldwide for his contribution to the field and will use his expertise to investigate promising new phenomena. He holds a senior Canada Research Chair in the area of Condensed Matter Physics and Statistical Mechanics at the University of Waterloo. He was awarded the Canadian Association of Physicists Herzberg Medal (2001) and Brockhouse Medal (2009), as well as a E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship (2003) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Ran Hirschl, University of Toronto
The Renaissance of Comparative Constitutional Studies
A top scholar in his field and the Canada Research Chair in constitutionalism, democracy, and development, Ran Hirschl will complete a book that explores the foundations and evolution of comparative constitutional studies. It will examine how the methods of comparative constitutional inquiry impact contemporary constitutional law. His writings include two groundbreaking books, Towards Juristocracy: the Origins and Consequences of the New Constitutionalism (2004) and Constitutional Theocracy (2010), which are highly regarded by legal scholars and political scientists alike.
Raman Kashyap, École Polytechnique de Montréal
Photon Induced Cooling by Super Radiance: Philosopher
The focus of Raman Kashyap’s research is photonics and the laser cooling of solids. To build an efficient “laser refrigerator,” essentially the opposite of the microwave oven, he will explore the following techniques: super radiance and simultaneous anti-stokes and excited state absorption laser cooling with two wavelengths. His 1999 book, Fiber Bragg Gratings (republished in 2009), remains a “bible” for researchers in the field of FBGs.
Mark Lewis, University of Alberta
The Mathematics Behind Biological Invasions
This research project will have an impact on Canada’s ability to proactively combat invasive species with early detection and rapid response. Mark Lewis plans to develop mathematical model structures to better detect and fight against harmful species such as weeds, insect pest and aquatic pest which threaten ecosystems. This is important to the protection of biodiversity. Mark Lewis is the 2011 recipient of the CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize, the top mathematical prize in Canada.
Kerry Rowe, Queen’s University
Long-term Performance of Landfill Systems: Protecting Future Generations from Contaminants of Concern
Kerry Rowe will examine the effectiveness of the modern barriers systems used in landfills to contain contaminants of emerging concern, like bisphenol-A, and develop guidelines for the design of barrier systems and landfill operations that will provide long-term environmental protection. He has received many awards and accolades for his research, including being elected a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering UK in 2010. His methods have been adopted by regulatory authorities in Canada and around the world.
Suning Wang, Queen’s University
Blue Phosphorescent Metal Compounds for High Efficiency Organic Light Emitting Devices
Suning Wang’s project concerns the development of devices that are expected to gradually replace currently used lighting technologies. She will further the research on blue phosphorescent compounds for high efficiency organic light-emitting devices. These could be used in light bulbs that would consume less energy than incandescent light bulbs without the need for toxic metals present in fluorescent light bulbs. She is one of the most successful and recognized Canadian researchers in organometallic and materials chemistry.
General information
The Canada Council for the Arts Killam Research Fellowships are made possible through the Killam Trusts, a bequest of Mrs. Dorothy J. Killam and a gift she made before her death in 1965 to honour the achievements of her late husband, Izaak Walton Killam. The awards support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies within these fields.
In addition to its principal role of promoting and fostering the arts, the Canada Council for the Arts administers and awards many prizes and fellowships in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural and health sciences, engineering, and arts management. These prizes and fellowships recognize the achievements of outstanding Canadian artists, scholars, and administrators. The Canada Council is committed to raising public awareness and celebrating these exceptional people and organizations on both a national and international level.
Find a complete listing of these awards. For more information about the Killam Trusts, visit www.killamtrusts.ca.
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