Awards & Achievements
Excellence in Research Award
2001 Recipient - Gary Slater
The University of Ottawa is well known as a bilingual university. But Gary Slater, recipient of the
University's 2001 Award for Excellence in Research, is fluent in English, French . . . and DNA?
A specialist in the physics of polymers, substances composed of huge molecules containing many species of atoms, Gary Slater is also interested in DNA electrophoresis, a technique for separating molecules based on their differential velocity in an electric field, and analysis methods. In addition, he is interested in the Human Genome Project, computer simulations and applications of the theory of diffusion in biophysics.
"Dr. Slater's research is characterized by originality and its interdisciplinar nature," says Christian Detellier, Dean of the Faculty of Science. "As a physicist, he brings an unusual expertise in such fields as molecular biology and analytical chemistry. He is now a leader in these areas, even though they are not paths traditionnally frequented by physicists."
In 1984, after receiving a PhD from the Université de Sherbrooke, Gary Slater worked for six years at Xerox Research Centre in Mississauga. In 1990, he joined the Department of Physics at the University of Ottawa, where, in 1996, he was named professor. From July 1997 to December 2000, Professor Slater was vice-dean (Research) for the Faculty of Science. An excellent popular science writer, Professor Slater had a weekly scientific column for many years in Sherbrooke's La Tribune and Toronto's L'Express.