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McNeil Medal
- 2011 - R. J. Dwayne Miller, FRSC
- 2010 - Doug Welch
- 2009 - Brian D. Alters
- 2008 - Alan V. Morgan
- 2007 - Mary Anne White
- 2006 - Reginald Harry Mitchell
- 2005 - Bob McDonald
- 2004 - Claude Benoit
- 2003 - David Pearson
- 2002 - M. Brock Fenton
- 2001 - David Suzuki
- 2000 - Lewis J. Brubacher (Co-medallist)
- 2000 - Bessie Borwein (Co-medallist)
- 1999 - Marcel LeBlanc
- 1998 - Jeremy N. McNeil
- 1997 - Jay Ingram
- 1996 - Godfrey S. Nowlan
- 1995 - J.S.C. (Jasper) McKee
- 1994 - Margaret-Ann Armour
- 1993 - Sid Katz
- 1992 - Ariel E. Fenster, David Harpp & Joseph A. Schwarcz
Top of Page2011 - R. J. Dwayne Miller, FRSC
This McNeil Medal recognizes R.J. Dwayne Miller for his dedication to the promotion of science throughout his carreer and as a founder of Science Rendezvous. This latter event provides a single voice behind which all the sciences have rallied to teach the public about the importance of science to society and to make science accessible. The event now reaches across the nation, becoming the largest event of its kind, and of sufficient scale that this message can be clearly heard. His work in science outreach has given a glimpse of the scientific process to over one hundred thousand people of all ages and is now engaging all Canadians.
2010 - Doug Welch
Doug Welch is a professional astronomer who has always engaged in numerous and varied science outreach activities - from showing passers-by the sky through telescopes to reviving and reinvigorating a local planetarium, writing a children's book on astronomy, podcasting about astronomy, an art exhibition on supernovae, and running a nationwide lecture series.
2009 - Brian D. Alters
Brian D. Alters is a television series host, a federal court expert witness and a teacher of science teachers. Having taught over 1,000 prospective school teachers and University Professors how to teach science; they in turn, now communicate science to tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of people.
2008 - Alan V. Morgan
Dr. Morgan is a gifted and committed communicator of science who achieved national and international prominence with his production of the highly acclaimed documentary film concerning the volcanic eruption of Eldfell in 1973. He is a superb and inspiring lecturer, remains prominent in the print media as an editor and author and is a leader in the educational use of electronic formats.
2007 - Mary Anne White
Mary Anne White's insatiable interest in understanding the physical world has provided a foundation upon which she has become Atlantic Canada's leading advocate for public awareness of science. Her contributions have been made through helping establish an interactive science centre, newspaper columns, encyclopedia contributions and science booklets, and through public lectures, innovative courses, radio, television, and many public venues, including libraries, shopping malls, and Parliament Hill.
2006 - Reginald Harry Mitchell
Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria
Dr. Mitchell, also known as Dr. Zonk, is an internationally recognized chemist, teacher and communicator. In the area of awareness of science, his principal audience is young people and his Chemistry "magic show", experienced by more than 30,000 BC students to date, is legendary. Whenever chemistry issues are making headlines he is sought after as a source of information.
2005 - Bob McDonald
Bob McDonald, CBC Radio, is one of Canada's best-known science journalist and broadcaster, and one of the country's most popular science speakers. He has devoted the past 30 years to helping the public understand and appreciate science, through his writings, television and radio programs, public speeches, and presentations. He is a consummate communicator, and has passed on his love of science to children and adults alike. For thousands of Canadians from coast to coast, Bob McDonald is the public face and voice of science in this country. From Wonderstruck to Quirks & Quarks to The National, Bob has shown that science can be both fun and educational.
2004 - Claude Benoit
President and Chief Executive Officer of Old Port of Montréal Inc., and Director of the Montréal Science Centre (MSC), Claude Benoit is known for her contribution for over 20 years to the development and promotion of education and scientific and technical culture.
Her background in biology and education coupled with her sense of entrepreneurship and innovation have allowed her to participate, with commitment and vision, to the development and the delivery of projects dealing specifically with education and the promotion of science and technology among the youth, families, teachers and the public at large. All these projects uniquely portray today’s Canada and Quebec: the Montréal Science Centre, the Biosphère, the Montreal Botanical Gardens, the Cosmodôme Space Science Centre, the Biodôme, the Parc des Îles, Expotec 88 to 94 and the Insectarium.
More recentely, through her efforts, the MSC and UQAM managed to partner for the creation at MSC of a laboratory for teacher training and for UQAM’s « Cœur des sciences » project, which will include a significant public education and outreach portion.
The success of these projects speaks to Claude’s ability to energize the research and scientific education communities, and to secure the involvement of all the stakeholders in complex and innovative projects, the real drivers of change in our society.
2003 - David Pearson
Dr. David Pearson is a Professor of Earth Sciences at Laurentian University. He helped pioneer educational television in the 1970s as host of TVOntario's Understanding the Earth and presented a weekly science discussion, Radio Lab, on CBC Northern Ontario Radio for fifteen years. He also hosted a Saturday evening environmental television show, Down to Earth, across Northern Ontario for seven years, and was Project Director and then founding Director of Science North, the Science Centre in Sudbury. In 2000 he was awarded the Ward Neale Medal by the Geological Association of Canada for his contribution to public awareness of the geosciences in Canada.
2002 - M. Brock Fenton
M. Brock Fenton, Professor, Department of Biology, York University, and Research Associate, Department of Mammalogy, Conservation and Biodiversity, Royal Ontario Museum, is a leading expert on the biology of bats who has taken advantage of the general public's natural curiosity about these ubiquitous flying mammals to pursue a diverse program of public awareness for more than twenty years. Using the print and electronic media, as well as personal contact with groups of all ages, he has communicated not only information about bats, their behaviour, communication and ecology, but also his own enthusiasm for science. His demonstrations using live bats and his bat walks have engaged the interest of many hundreds of people every year. He has also acted in a leadership role to encourage his students to increase public awareness of science.
2001 - David Suzuki
David Suzuki, The University of British Columbia, is widely recognized not only in Canada but throughout the world for his contributions on many fronts to public awareness and understanding of science. His face and name have been familiar on television and radio since the late 1960s, explaining the impact of science on our society and on our individual lives. In addition Dr. Suzuki has reached an even wider audience of both children and adults through his books as well as his newspaper and magazine articles. Dr. Suzuki has been honoured by many organizations for his innovative and wide-ranging efforts in science communication.
2000 - Lewis J. Brubacher (Co-medallist)
Professor Lewis J. Brubacher, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo, has had a major impact on the communication of chemistry to students, teachers and the general public in Canada as well as throughout the world. In his role as editor-in-chief of the publication CHEM 13 NEWS, Professor Brubacher has been and continues to be a key player in bringing the importance of chemistry to our everyday lives. The chemistry of plastics, rocket fuel, catalysts, drugs and life processes among other topics, are presented by this educational magazine to a readership of over 4000 individuals and schools in over forty countries. The publication also institutes two national/international examinations to high school students, the CHEM 13 NEWS Exam and the AVOGADRO Exam. Through this publication and these examinations, chemistry is well communicated to a public audience. Professor Brubacher has unselfishly devoted major portions of his time to promote the chemical sciences not only to his own students at the University of Waterloo but also to our society and to the next generation. His time spent presenting papers at, and helping to organize several major chemical education conferences has played and will continue to play a major role in highlighting the everyday importance that chemistry, and science in general, plays in our society. His inspiration and love for teaching and his interest in presenting the impact that chemistry has on society is meritorious.
2000 - Bessie Borwein (Co-medallist)
Dr. Bessie Borwein, formerly Assistant Dean, Research, The University of Western Ontario, has made very significant contributions to the public awareness and understanding of science particularly biomedical science. She is articulate and eloquent in speech and writing, and transmits well her profound appreciation of the value of science. In the media, and in talks to a very wide variety of audiences she has helped educate the general public about the importance of past and present biomedical research for health and well-being. Her motto is "Public Ignorance of Science is our worst Enemy". There are not many people whose outreach to the public has been so wide-ranging, consistent and effective over many years.
1999 - Marcel LeBlanc
Marcel LeBlanc, Emeritus Professor, University of Ottawa, while pursuing a personal mission to heighten interest of the public in science, more specifically in physics, has presented a spectacular science lecture to over 400 groups of primary, intermediate, secondary and university students, parents and teachers. He has reached almost 100,000 people (at no fee) during the last thirty years of his teaching and research career. An outstanding bilingual communicator, he motivates students, leaving them with a new perspective regarding science. His contribution to public awareness of science is colossal.
1998 - Jeremy N. McNeil
For more than ten years, Jeremy McNeil has been presenting slide-shows, comparing similarities in behaviour of humans and insects, to students from kindergarten to high school, in both English and French. He now speaks to more than 1,500 students annually in Canada and Europe. His activities now include talking to students and teachers taking courses on teaching science to young children, amateur science groups, gardening clubs, and visitors to nature centres. He appears regularly on radio and television, as well as serving as judge in science fairs, both nationally and internationally.
1997 - Jay Ingram
Jay Ingram has been communicating and explaining science to Canadians for more than eighteen years. He has the unique ability to express complicated ideas and principles in everyday language, and is able to communicate not only the process of science but also the elegance of thought that underlies it. He has gained the trust of the public community and sparked their imagination.
Gaining national attention on CBC Radio's science program "Quirks and Quarks", Mr. Ingram captivated nearly half-a-million listeners each week between 1979 and 1992. In 1995, he turned to television, joining the Discovery Channel, where he helped to create the world's first daily one-hour science magazine television program, which he also co-hosts. Mr. Ingram is also a prolific author, having written several books, as well as a weekly science column for The Toronto Star.
Whether in print, television, or radio, Ingram's creative talents, penetrating intellect, and good humour have had a profound impact on the way science is communicated and understood in Canada. His enthusiasm is infectious, and compelling to the millions of readers, viewers, and listeners who have been inspired by him over the years.
1996 - Godfrey S. Nowlan
Godfrey Nowlan has been a tireless activist and an energetic and effective innovator in the area of public awareness of science throughout his career. His leadership in the Calgary area over the past six or more years has been exceptional, as the Science Network which he co-founded has achieved an enviable success record. Its Science Hotline has brought 300 scientists and engineers into contact with 50,000 students in 2,000 classrooms. Its annual coordination of local Science and Technology Week activities continues to bring science theatre, mall science, essay and poster contests to thousands of Calgarians. On the national scene, Nowlan's leadership of the Canadian Geoscience Education Network has coordinated and stimulated new approaches to public awareness by fourteen national societies. He inspires by example!
Godfrey Nowlan also won the 1992 Bancroft Award.
1995 - J.S.C. (Jasper) McKee
Dr. J.S.C. (Jasper) McKee is widely recognized as an effective and enthusiastic spokesman for science. During his outstanding career as a university professor and physics researcher, Jasper McKee has undertaken many projects aimed at communicating scientific knowledge to the public at large. He has a rare gift of being able to attract the interest and imagination of almost any audience, and his regular contributions as a science commentator on CBC radio and television programmes are rated highly. Jasper McKee is a popular speaker who is consistently in great demand for public appearances. He has also served on a number of national committees, including Science Culture Canada and the CBC's National Advisory Council on Science. As President of the Canadian Association of Physicists, as Editor of the Association's journal, and as an excellent role model himself, Jasper McKee has done much to stimulate his fellow scientists to reach out and communicate to a wider audience the excitement and relevance of their work.
1994 - Margaret-Ann Armour
Dr. Armour is the Assistant Chair of the Chemistry Department at the University of Alberta, and is a founding member of WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology). The object of this highly successful program is to encourage young women, through role modelling, laboratory experience, and a variety of science-related projects, to choose non-traditional careers in science and engineering. Dr. Armour is well-known for her visits to schools to demonstrate chemical principles, to organize hands-on experiments, and to make presentations on scientific topics. Since 1984 she has given over forty talks aimed at encouraging women into science and engineering.
1993 - Sid Katz
Dr. Sid Katz is executive director of SCIENCE WORLD British Columbia, and was instrumental in the development of the province's only science centre. His long and outstanding career as a science communicator began in 1979 as the host, writer and producer of Frontiers in Medicine, a sixteen-part series on health research for Rogers Vancouver Cable TV. From 1986 to the present, he has served as a drug expert for CBC National radio and has been a medical science columnist on "Morningside" with Peter Gzowski. Dr. Katz has been working with science centres since 1987, when he was involved in the conception, research, and development of display ideas for the Regina Science Centre, and the "Living Planet" (1989) and the "Bringing Research to Life" (1990) exhibits at SCIENCE WORLD.
1992 - Ariel E. Fenster, David Harpp & Joseph A. Schwarcz
Drs. Ariel Fenster and Joseph Schwarcz (Vanier College and McGill University) and Dr. David Harpp (McGill University) are an exceptional trio that has popularized chemistry, both nationally and internationally, for well over a decade. Starting in 1980, when they created a series of demonstrations at the "Man and his World" exhibition, their work has evolved to encompass a lecture series at McGill University, credit courses at both McGill University and Vanier College, bilingual television and radio presentations, a phone-in show with Dr. Schwarcz which has been running for ten years, and special programs for seniors and grade school children. They have also created an entertaining stage show called "The Magic of Chemistry," which blends slides, music, chemical demonstrations and magic to introduce the public to the history and many applications of chemistry. It has been presented well over 200 times to more than 50,000 people across Canada and the United States of America.