file.newsgroup.med.59478 Maven / Gradle / Ivy
From: [email protected] (Barry Shell)
Subject: Great Canadian Scientists
About two years ago I posted the following:
I am planning to write a new book called "Great Canadian Scientists."
Please forward your nominations to me: [email protected]
The rules are that the person must be a Canadian citizen. They don't have
to be born in Canada or even live in Canada, but they must have (or have
had, if they are dead) Canadian citizenship while they are/were great
Canadian scientists.
About 70 people have been nominated already and they are listed at the
end of this posting.
I'm not quite sure what should constitute greatness, and there may be a
gray area here. If you have any ideas on criteria for greatness, I would be
pleased to hear them. In any event, please nominate people even if you are
not sure they are great. I would like as big a list as possible.
Please give me a name and email address, phone number or mail address, so
that I can contact the person. If you don't know any of the above, then
give me their last known whereabouts. Also please give your reason for why
you think the person should be considered a great Canadian scientist.
After I have the list, I will choose about six of the most interesting ones
and do in-depth biographies of those individuals in the style of Tracy
Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine" or some other dramatic technique.
The rest of the great Canadian scientists will appear in an appedix with
one paragraph biographies.
If you have any other ideas about this project, I am interested to hear
them.
So far, I have received 68 nominations as follows:
First Name Last Name Nominator Famous For
---------- --------- --------- ----------
Sid Altman Kuszewski, John Catalytic RNA(Nobel Chem 89)
Frederick Banting me Insulin (Nobel U23 medicine)
Davidson Black Stanley, Robert Discovered Peking Man
James R. Bolton Warden, Joseph chemistry?
Raoul Bott Smith, Steven Math: algebraic topology.
Willard Boyle Chamm, Craig Co inventor of CCD
Gerard Bull Stanley, Robert Ballistics and gunnery
Dennis Chitty Galindo-Leal, Carlos First animal ecologist
Brian C. Conway Tellefsen, Karen Electrochemistry
Stephen Cook Mendelzon, Alberto NP-completeness, complexity
? Copp Kuch, Gerald biochem aspects of physiol
H.S.M. Coxeter Calkin, Neil J. Regular polytopes (math)
P. N. Daykin Palmer, Bill Chem, mosquito repellant
H. E. Duckworth anonymous Mass Spectroscopy, admin
Jack Edmonds Snoeyink, Jack Math, Operations research
Reginald Fessenden Johnsen, Hans Wire insulation, light bulb
Ursula Franklin McKellin, William Physics archeol. materials
J. A. Gray Gray, Tom Nuclear physics, The Gray
E. W. Guptill Chamm, Craig Slotted array radar
Donald Hebb Lyons, Michael Learning (Hebbian synapses)
Gerhard Herzberg me Optical spectr Nobel 71
James Hillier me Electron Microscope (Can/Am)
Crawford S. Holling Galindo-Leal, Carlos Ecology, predators and prey
David Hubel Lyons, Michael Visual cortex (Nobel med ?)
Kenneth Iverson Dare, Gary Invented APL
J. D. Jackson Austern, Matt Elementary Particle Theory
Andre Joyal Pananagden, Prakash Category theory, categ Logic
Martin Kamen me Carbon-14 (Canadian/Amer.)
Irving Kaplansky Knighten, Bob Algebra, functional analysis
George S. Kell Kell, Dave Hot water freezing
T. E. Kellogg Palmer, Bill Chem, mosquito repellant
Geraldine Kenney-Wallace Siegman, Anthony Chemistry ? Administration
Brian Kernaghan Brader, Mark C programming language
Michael L. Klein Marchi, Massimo Theoretical Chemistry
Charles J. Krebs Galindo-Leal, Carlos Ecology, Krebs effect
K. J. Laidler Tellefsen, Karen Chemical Kinetics
G. C. Laurence Palmer, Bill Physics ????
Raymond Lemieux Smith, Earl First synthesized glucose
Martin Levine Meunier, Robert Computer vision
Edward S. Lowry himself Computer programming
Pere Marie-Victorin Meunier, Robert Jardin Botanique de Montreal
Colin MacLeod Turner, Steven Nobel (?) DNA discovery?
Marshall McLuhan Clamen, Stewart Social sci, communications
Ben Morrison Willson, David Aurora Borealis
Lawrence Morley Strome, Murray Plate Tektonics/Remote sense
Farley Mowat Abbott, John Northern Animal rights?
Kevin Ogilvie Kendrick, Kelly Genetics, cure for herpes?
Sir William Osler Lyons, Michael Medicine
P.J.E. Peebles Vishniac, Ethan Most important cosmologist
Wilder Penfield Perri, Marie Anatomical basis for memory
John Polanyi me chemiluminescensce Nobel86
Denis Poussart Meunier, Robert Computer Vision
Anatol Rapoport Lloyd-Jones, David conflict theory, game theory
Howard Rapson Sutherland, Russell Pulp chemistry
Hans Selye Goel, Anil K. Psychology of stress.
William Stephenson Wilkins, Darin WW2 Enigma code, Wire photo
Boris Stoicheff Siegman, Anthony Raman Spectroscopy
David Suzuki Meister, Darren Science communication
Henry Taube Parker, Wiley Physical Chemistry Nobel83
Richard Taylor Manuel, John Verified Quark model Nobel90
David Thompson Eisler, Michael Mapped western Canada
Endel Tulving Green, Christopher Psychology of memory
Bill Tutte Royle, Gordon matroid theory (math)
I Uchida Palmer, Bill Down's syndrome
J. Tuzo Wilson Collier, John Continental Drift theory
R. H. Wright Palmer, Bill Chem, mosquito repellant
J.L.(Allen) Yen Leone, Pasquale VL baseline interferometry
Walter Zinn me Breader Reactor (Can/Amer.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The list is growing nicely. It's amazing to see just how much was discovered
by Canadians. Actually there are many more who were born in Canada, but
became Americans after graduate school.
Please note: a lot of people have nominated Alexander Graham Bell but I
feel he was really a Scottish/American with a summer home in Canada. Now
I know this is debatable, but please don't nominate him again.
If anyone can fill in some of the question marks on the list, please drop
me a line.
==================================================
That was two years ago. Since then, I have received a grant from Science
Culture Canada, a division of Supply and Services Canada to research the
book. Since my old posting the book has evolved into an educational book
for kids aged 9 - 14 (though this may change again) It will have about
40 two-page spreads with a large graphic in the middle and text/graphic
boxes all around on the following subjects: Vital statistics and photo of
the scientist, Personal statement from the scientist, Narrative of a few
moments in the life of the scientist, "What I was doing when I was 12",
So you want to be a , Experiment you can do. There
will be an appendix with 100 - 200 more scientists with one paragraph
biographies who didn't quite make it to the double spreads. The whole thing
will then be published on CD-ROM with video and sound clips for added
richness. I am looking for a CD-ROM publisher as well. The text part may
also be available on the CANARIE electronic highway being developed in
Canada as well.
I am still looking for a publisher though Penguin Canada came close
to being it. Hope to find one soon.
I would like to again ask for more nominations, especially in the
pure sciences of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Also criticisms of
the list are welcomed. Also women and French-Canadian scientists are needed.
I hope this posting will get others to nominate more Great Canadian
Scientists, and to discuss what is "great" what is "Canadian" and what is
"scientist".
Please respond to:
[email protected]
or
Barry Shell 604-876-5790
4692 Quebec St. Vancouver, B.C. V5V 3M1 Canada
Thanks to all who responded already.
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