They have debated their way around the world – from Kuala Lumpur to Cambridge – and in January, U of T students Joanna Nairn and Michael Kotrly won the 2006 World University Debating Championship title in Dublin. Nairn, a fourth-year political science student and North American debating champion, and Kotrly, a third-year law student and national champion, beat out 320 teams from more than 40 countries. The duo won the Grand Final for their argument against abolishing laws prohibiting cruelty to animals.
U of T professors Margaret MacMillan (BA 1966 TRIN) and John Wedge have been appointed officers of the Order of Canada. Wedge, a professor in the department of surgery, is an international authority on reconstructive hip surgery and surgeon-in-chief at the Hospital for Sick Children. MacMillan is provost of Trinity College and author of the bestseller Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World. Jon Dellandrea (BA 1973 UTSC, MEd 1980, EdD 1987), former vice-president and chief advancement officer, was named a member of the order. Dellandrea played a critical role in U of T’s $1-billion fundraising campaign.
Carmela Murdocca (BA 2000 UC, MA 2002), a PhD candidate at OISE/UT, has been awarded a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to study for a year at Columbia University in New York City. Murdocca’s research examines the relationship between race, criminal sentencing and nationalism.
A U of T scientist at the forefront of nanotechnology research has been named to the 2005 Scientific American 50 – the annual list recognizing leaders in science and technology. Professor Ted Sargent (PhD 1998) of electrical and computer engineering was selected for his development of paintable solar cells that can absorb infrared light – a discovery that could boost solar cell performance.
Professor Janet Rossant of medical genetics and microbiology and chief of research at the Hospital for Sick Children has received the 2005 Michael Smith Prize. The $100,000 annual prize honours a Canadian researcher who has demonstrated a high degree of innovation, creativity, leadership and dedication in health research.
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