TV Broadcasts: Trottier Symposium and Mini-Science

Got an itch for knowledge? The Canal Savoir network will be broadcasting features from several McGill outreach and public lecture series, including the 2014 Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium: Are we alone?

Congratulations to alumnus John O'Keefe, our newest Nobel laureate!

The Faculty of Science extends congratulations to alumnus John O'Keefe who was named co-winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for his contribution to the discovery of cells that constitute the brain’s ‘inner GPS,’ which makes it possible to orient ourselves in space. Dr. O’Keefe worked under the supervision of Professor Ron Melzack (Department of Psychology) and received his PhD from McGill in 1967. Read more:

McGill grad John O’Keefe wins Nobel Prize in medicine (McGill news release) Nobel winner has very fond memories of McGill (McGill Reporter article)

Free Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus software for students

Starting today, August 19, McGill students have free access to the latest version of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office apps. You may download and install it on up to five compatible personal devices, including PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones and tablets.

Heartbleed: reset your McGill Password

All of McGill’s central IT systems have been evaluated for vulnerability to Heartbleed and updates were applied where needed. If you are a McGill staff member, you are required to change your password. For others, we strongly encourage you to change your McGill Password without delay. 

To reset your McGill Password: Faculty, staff, & students: log into Minerva, and go to the Personal Menu > Password for McGill Username.  Affiliates: go to Reggie and click on Change Account Information, then select McGill Password.  Notes: 

Prof. Matt Dobbs, inaugural Dunlap Award from the Canadian Astronomical Society

Congratulations to Prof. Matt Dobbs in the Department of Physics for winning the inaugural Dunlap Award from the Canadian Astronomical Society. He received this award in recognition of his international leadership on the design and implementation of systems using Superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor bolometers. The prize citation states in part:

Grinding chemistry, greening chemistry

What if you could re-engineer chemical processes so that instead of using toxic solvents or expensive catalysts, you could incite molecules to bind simply by grinding them together? McGill Chemistry Professor Tomislav Friscic is a leader in the field of mechanochemistry. Read more about his work in "Grinding chemistry" from the Chemical Institute of Canada.

Prof. Bruce A. Reed, Humboldt Research Award

Congratulations to Prof. Bruce A. Reed, FRSC, Canada Research Chair in Graph Theory in the School of Computer Science for receiving a prestigious Humboldt Research Award. This award recognizes researchers at the peak of their careers whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline, and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.

Prof. Isztar Zawadzki, Luis Federico Leloir Award for International Cooperation in Science, Technology, and Innovation

Congratulations to Dr. Isztar Zawadzki, FRSC, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences for receiving a 2013 Luis Federico Leloir Award from the Argentinian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Productive Innovation. This award recognizes non-Argentinian scientists who have contributed significantly to scientific, technological, and innovation cooperation with Argentina.

Prof. Fred Genesee, CPA Gold Medal Award

Congratulations to Prof. Fred Genesee (Department of Psychology) for winning the 2014 Gold Medal Award from the Canadian Psychological Association.

Prof. Ehab Abouheif and Prof. Aashish Clerk, NSERC E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowships; Michael Lifshitz, NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prize

Three McGill researchers among the recipients of NSERC national prizes

Two McGill researchers—Prof. Ehab Abouheif, of the Department of Biology, and Prof. Aashish Clerk, Department of Physics—have been named as 2014 recipients of E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowships, awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC). In addition, doctoral candidate Michael Lifshitz, working in the cognitive neuroscience lab of Prof. Amir Raz, has won NSERC’s 2013 André Hamer Postgraduate Prize.

Prof. Derek Gray, CIC Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award 2014

Congratulations to Dr. Derek Gray, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Chemistry, for winning the 2014 Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award from the Chemical Institute of Canada. This award is presented to an individual who, while residing in Canada, has made a distinguished contribution to macromolecular science or engineering. Professor Gray’s research interests have focussed on the structural polymers in wood, and in particular on cellulose and cellulose derivatives.

McGill astronomers earn spot on list of 2013 Top 10 breakthroughs

Physics World cites work by South Pole Telescope team

Scientists in McGill’s Astrophysics group have been honoured in Physics World magazine’s list of top 10 breakthroughs in physics for 2013.

Deep-sea study reveals cause of 2011 tsunami

Drilling in Japan Trench by international scientific team finds unusually thin, slippery geological fault

The devastating tsunami that struck Japan’s Tohoku region in March 2011 was touched off by a submarine earthquake far more massive than anything geologists had expected in that zone.

Prof. Niky Kamran, 2014 CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize

Congratulations to Prof. Niky Kamran (Department of Mathematics and Statistics) for receiving the 2014 CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize, Canada's premier prize in mathematics. Professor Kamran's achievements lie in the areas of analysis and differential geometry.

Profs. Ariel Fenster and Kenneth Ragan, Principal’s Prizes for Excellence in Teaching

Congratulations to the Faculty of Science's two most recent winners of the Principal’s Prizes for Excellence in Teaching! At Fall Convocation on November 25, 2013, Prof. Ariel Fenster, Department of Chemistry, received this prize in the Faculty Lecturer category, as did Prof. Kenneth J. Ragan, William C. Macdonald Chair in Physics, in the Full Professor Category.