Groundbreaking research nets Alberta profs 2018 Killam Prizes
Two Alberta researchers have been awarded 2018 Killam Prizes by the Canada Council for the Arts for their discoveries in the fields of natural sciences and engineering.
University of Alberta professor James Pinfold and Walter Herzog of the University of Calgary will receive $100,000 prizes as two of five Canadians announced to receive the honour Tuesday.
Pinfold is this year’s natural sciences recipient for his work in particle physics. In 1997, Pinfold became the youngest leader of an international collider experiment, in charge of the MODAL experiment. “I was totally surprised,” Pinfold said of finding out he was awarded one of the five prizes.
Working with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, Pinfold was also a founding member of the ATLAS experiment that announced the discovery of the Higgs boson particle.
The longtime physics professor reacted to his achievements in physics by citing Albert Einstein’s famous quote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Continuing his work in particle physics, Pinfold said he is currently leading another experiment at CERN searching for fractionally-charged and long-lived particles which cannot be seen in the current detectors run out of the Large Hadron Collider.
Herzog, a self-proclaimed “accidental scientist,” was awarded the Killam Prize in engineering for his work in biomechanics and muscle-contraction in Calgary.
With pioneering research in the musculoskeletal system, Herzog has made major discoveries in bone, joint and muscular diseases.
Herzog said his team is currently working on a study looking into osteoarthritis, particularly in the knee, to find reasonings for cartilage being broken down and the need for joint replacements.
After learning of the award, Herzog said he isn’t certain what he will do with the monetary prize, but hopes to invest some of it into research at the university.
The other three prize winners are Janet Werker in the field of social sciences, André Gaudreault in humanities and Vladimir Hachinski in health sciences.