Science and Continuing Education

Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science

Kelvin Ogilvie joined the Department of Chemistry at McGill in 1974 and became one of the youngest ever at the University to achieve full professorship when he was promoted four years later. Ogilvie, born in Nova Scotia in 1942, earned his PhD in organic chemistry in 1964 at Northwestern University in Illinois and his BSc in 1959 at Acadia University, where he has been president for the past five years.

Ogilvie is credited with such innovations as the synthesis in 1981 of DNA and RNA and the subsequent invention of the world's first automated synthesizer of genetic material -- "the Gene Machine" -- which is now part of any modern biotechnology laboratory.

He also invented the antiviral agent "BIOLF-62," now being tested for the treatment of brain tumours, and sold in more than 40 countries with sales of more than $100 million per year.

While at McGill, Ogilvie was not only a productive researcher and inventor, he was also highly ranked as a teacher. At Acadia, he is working to have the entire university on-line by the year 2000. In 1991, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.




William Moser
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Statistics

Geometry, central to his mathematical interests, has served William Moser well. The book he co-authored in 1957 with his doctoral thesis adviser and distinguished geometer, MSM Coxeter (University of Toronto), still serves as the definitive handbook on discrete groups, a subject related to geometry.

During his 32 years in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Moser fashioned and taught his own geometry courses in an original manner, making collections of research problems along the way. In order to promote his specialty, Moser became involved in the teaching of high school mathematics teachers, making films about geometry, organizing mathematical competitions and collecting and disseminating competition problems.

Moser is a respected member of the Canadian mathematical community, whom he has served as editor-in-chief of the Canadian Mathematical Bulletin and as president of the Canadian Mathematical Society. It is expected that he will continue to be found in his office, engaged as ever in mathematical challenges.




John F. Harrod
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry

In his 32 years in the Department of Chemistry at McGill, John Harrod has distinguished himself as one of the most "complete" professors in the University. His pioneering research in organometallic organosilicon chemistry has helped develop several important industrial processes and his work has been incorporated into many undergraduate chemistry textbooks.

Harrod's renown as a materials chemist earned him the Tomlinson Chair in Chemistry in 1993 and his work in organic chemistry earned him the Killam Research Fellowship (1995-97) and the Alcan Award in 1997.

Appreciated as a teacher, Harrod supervised 25 graduate students during his career. In the department, he served twice as chair, was president of MAUT from 1981-82 and served two terms as a science senator.

Prior to coming to McGill, Harrod worked as a research chemist at the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York, after completing his PhD in 1958 at the University of Birmingham, England. As emeritus professor, Harrod will continue his research and be active in the organization of national and international symposia in his field.




Christopher Paige
Emeritus Professor of Computer Science

Australian-born Chris Paige already had something of an international reputation even before coming to McGill's School of Computer Science in 1972. His University of London PhD thesis, on an algorithm known as the Lanczos method, is universally acknowledged as one of the most influential ever in the field of computational mathematics.

Paige continues to contribute to the field of numerical analysis and linear algebra, which has applications in statistics and controllability. His work with Michael Saunders (Stanford University) in the '80s led to the LSQR algorithm, which is still used as a benchmark against which others measure their new methods.

Always on the look-out for ways of solving the problems of practitioners, Paige has probably opened more "algorithmic doors" than any other researcher in the area and he is committed to helping young researchers advance the field. His presence at McGill has truly put the School of Computer Science on the map.




Rolf Sattler
Emeritus Professor of Biology

The history and philosophy of biology has always been as interesting to Rolf Sattler as his particular branch of botany, plant morphology. Sattler became a founding member of the Department of Biology when botany, zoology and genetics were fused in 1970. His 34-year career at the University has seen 65 articles and two books published and the creation of such courses as modern biology and the human condition.

Well regarded for his ability to train graduate students in areas such as plant structure, Sattler received the David Thomson Award for Graduate Supervision and Teaching. His concern for spirituality and the environment is well known and in 1995 Sattler was invited to speak on Science and Spirituality at the Dalai Lama's 60th birthday celebrations in New Delhi.




John B. Lewis
Emeritus Professor of Biology

John Lewis is truly a McGill man. Having completed his BSc, MSc and PhD at the University, he began his long career in marine biology in 1954 as founding director of McGill's Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, Canada's only tropical field station, where he worked until 1970. He has also been director of the Redpath Museum and the Institute of Oceanography.

The animals and plants living in and around coral reefs have been the central interest of Lewis's career, and he has written 72 research papers on the subject, many of which are still cited.

Lewis, for many years the University's only marine biologist, taught marine biology, oceanography and marine pollution, supervising 30 master's and doctoral students. He retired in 1992 but remains an active researcher, migrating between Bellairs and McGill.