History of the Canadian Materials Science Conference

The list of past D.K.C. MacDonald Memorial Lecturers and Award recipients clearly demonstrate the rich history associated with the Canadian Materials Science Conference. The Conference established its roots in 1951 when the late T. S. Hutchison, a professor of solid-state physics at the Royal Military College, and colleagues at Queens University, the University of Toronto, Alcan and the National Research Council began holding annual summer meetings at RMC. These meetings quickly became known as the Canadian Metal Physics Conference, with the self-proclaimed mission of fostering the development in Canada of a then modest research activity in physical metallurgy.

The continuing success of the conference, made possible in part by the organizing efforts of Wendy Jackson, attracted the interest of metallurgists engaged in chemical processing. In 1976, under the leadership of Professor J.M. Toguri of the University of Toronto, a metal chemistry component was added to the conference. In 1987, after an incredible 37 continuous years of Conference stewardship, Professor Hutchison relinquished his role to Professor W.T. Thompson. Shortly thereafter, to acknowledge changes that had taken place in the mission of most universities with metallurgical programs, the name of the Conference was changed to the Canadian Materials Science Conference.

The Conference was held at RMC until 2000, excepting 1996 and 1997, when the College was undergoing renovations. Since 2001, the Conference has been hosted at a different venue each year. Past hosts have included Carleton, Laurentian, Manitoba, Dalhousie, University of British Columbia, McMaster University, University of Alberta, University of Waterloo, UBC Okanagan, Western University, McGill University, University of Saskatchewan, Queen’s University and Dalhousie.

The conference maintains a significant student component. The importance of this emphasis is indicated by the names of past student award winners, many of whom now hold positions of considerable authority in universities, industry or research establishments. It is one of the aims of the conference to instill in students an appreciation and excitement for materials science technologies by providing a friendly but intellectually challenging forum for presentation of their endeavours, as well as those of leaders in Canadian and global materials science.

About the D.K.C. MacDonald Memorial Lecture

The MacDonald Memorial Lecture remembers the achievements of David Keith Chalmers MacDonald, born in Glasgow in July 1920. From an early age, he demonstrated considerable ability in mathematics and physics, and he graduated from Edinburgh University with first class honours. During the Second World War, owing to deficient eyesight, he served at the Military College of Science at Bury, where his remarkable talents for original research combining experimental and theoretical aspects became apparent.

In 1951, the year of the first Canadian Metal Physics Conference (the direct predecessor of the Canadian Materials Science Conference), MacDonald came to Canada. He and others associated with the National Research Council (NRC) soon became prominent and regular attendees at this annual conference. It was at the National Research Council that MacDonald developed an intense interest in the solid state at extremely low temperatures. He produced many papers of the highest quality during his tenure at the NRC. In 1957, MacDonald was diagnosed as having a rare neurological ailment that would lead to gradual debilitation of his limbs, and eventual death. His reaction was characteristic of his personality, and he increased the pace of activities to make the most of the time remaining. During this difficult period, the NRC, under Dr. Steacie, assisted him by providing special nursing and transportation services.

Keith MacDonald passed away in 1963. His honours included election to the Royal Society at a relatively young age, recipient of the Gold Medal of the Canadian Association of Physicists an honorary Professorship at the University of Ottawa, five books published, as well as the high esteem of his colleagues. MacDonald enjoyed a sense of achievement that is usually attained only at a more advanced age. He died a stricken but not unhappy man. It is no exaggeration to say that his contributions to metal physics in Canada set a standard that is yet to be surpassed.

The D.K.C. MacDonald Memorial Lecture has been a prominent feature of the Conference since 1964, and conference attendees have enjoyed Memorial Lectures presented by some of the leading figures in Materials Science, both from a Canadian and global perspective.

Year Recipient Organization
2022 Donald R. Sadoway

Massachusetts Institute of Technology​

2021 Julia Greer California Institute of Technology
2020
2019 Franz Spaepen Harvard University
2018 Mary Anne White Dalhousie University
2017 Javier Llorca Polytechnic University of Madrid
2016 Haël Mughrabi University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
2015 David S. Wilkinson McMaster University
2014 G. Kirczenow Simon Fraser University
2013 P. Voorhees Northern University
2012 C.N. Tome Los Alamos National Labs
2011 C. Ravindran Ryerson
2010 Mike Ashby Cambridge University
2009 Lyndon Edwards ANSTO
2008 Ian Robertson U. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2007 Yves Brechet INPG Grenoble
2006 R.E. Loehman Sandia National Laboratories
2005 M. Rappaz Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
2004 W. Nix Stanford
2003 M. Chaturvedi Manitoba
2002 W. Wallace NRC
2001 B.R. Conrad INCO
2000 F.R.N. Nabarro Witwatersrand
1999 J.M. Toguri Toronto
1998 J.W. Cahn NIST
1997 J.W. Evans Univ. of California, Berkeley
1996 R.W. Seigel  
1995 G.K. White CSIRO Division of Applied Physics
1994 J.K. Brimacombe UBC
1993 C.J. Humphreys U. Cambridge
1992 S. Howie Cavendish Laboratory
1991 M.H. Loretto Birmingham
1990 W.C. Weingard Gov’t of Canada
1989 A. Seeger Max Planck Institute
1988 J.D. Embury McMaster
1987 J.W. Steeds Bristol
1986 J.L. Smith  
1985 A.S. Argon MIT
1984 W. Nix Stanford University
1983 M. Brown U. Cambridge
1982    
1981 W.B. Pearson Waterloo
1980 M. Brown U. Cambridge
1979 P.C. Clapp University of Connecticut
1978 J.P. Hirth Washington State
1977 W. Schilling Institut für Festkörperforschung
1976 T.B. Massalski Carnegie-Mellon
1975 A.R. Mackintosh Copenhagen
1974 T.S. Hutchinson RMC
1973 J.S. Dugdale National Research Council of Canada
1972 J.A. Davies Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories
1971 J.D. Livingston General Electric Research Laboratory
1970 J.W. Christian Oxford
1969 Z.S. Basinski NRC
1968 W.S. Boyle Bell Laboratories
1967 J.W. Cahn NIST
1966 T.J. Rowland University of Illinois
1965 G.M. Pound Carnegie Institute of Technology
1964 W.G. Pfann Bell Laboratories

The Metal Physics Award

History: The Metal Physics Award was conceived by Professor T.S. Hutchison of the Royal Military College of Canada to recognize achievements in fundamental physics of importance to the understanding of metals as materials. At the time of its first award to Z.S. Basinski in 1977, the advancement of dislocation theory was the very essence of the kind of achievement the award was intended to recognize. Although the Award since that time has been awarded for excellence in a much broader range of research achievements including advancement in non-metallic materials.

Year Canadian Metal Physics Award Year Canadian Metal Physics Award
1977 Z.S. Basinski, NRC 2000 U.Erb, Queen’s
1978 T.S. Hutchinson, RMC 2001 H. McQueen, Concordia
1979 W.B. Pearson, Waterloo 2002 W. Youdelis, Windsor
1980 J.S. Kirkaldy, McMaster 2003 D. Lloyd, Alcan
1981 J. Carbotte, McMaster 2004 D. Wilkinson, McMaster
1982 C.M. Mitchell, UBC 2005 M. Wayman, U of Alberta
1983 J.J. Jonas, McGill 2006 A. Plumtree, Waterloo
1984 J.D. Embury, McMaster 2007 R. Gauvin, McGill
1985 L.M. Howe, AECL 2008 D. Perovic, Toronto
1986 M.Duesbury, AECL 2009 R. Drew, Concordia
1987 R. Smith, Queen’s 2010 D. Boyd, Queen’s
1988 G.C. Weatherly, McMaster 2011 J. Cahoon, Manitoba
1989 K.T. Aust, Toronto 2012 M. Chaturvedi, Manitoba
1990 G.R. Purdy, McMaster 2013 W. Poole, UBC
1991 F. Weinburg, UBC 2014 M. Militzer, UBC
1992 K. Tangri, Manitoba 2015 M. Niewczas, McMaster
1993 S.R. MacEwen, Alcan 2016 N. Provatas, McMaster
1994 U. Franklin, Toronto 2017 G. Botton, McMaster
1995 S. Saimoto, Queen’s

2018

R.A. Holt, Queen’s University
1996 G.J.C. Carpenter, CANMET 2019 Daolun Chen, Ryerson University
1997 H.W. King, Victoria 2020
1998 J.W. Rutter, Toronto 2021 Hatem Zurob, McMaster Univerity
1999 W.R. Tyson, CANMET 2022 Scott X Mao, University of Pittsburgh​

The Metal Chemistry Award

History: The Metal Chemistry Award was conceived by Professor H. Hancock of the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1988 to recognize outstanding contributions to metallurgical chemistry as epitomized by the inaugural winner, Professor L.M. Pidgeon of the University of Toronto. Since the time of its inception, the award has included recipients from universities, industry and government laboratories engaged in research activities ranging from hydrometallurgy, molten salt chemistry, corrosion and fundamental physical chemistry bearing upon smelting and refining processes.

Year Canadian Metal Chemistry Award Year Canadian Metal Chemistry Award
1988 L.M. Pidgeon, Toronto 2006 W. Caley, Dalhousie
1989 A.D. Pelton, Ecole Polytechnic 2007 G. Kipourus, Dalhousie
1990 J.M. Toguri, Toronto 2008 T. Etsell, Alberta
1991 W.W. Smeltzer, McMaster 2009 S.A. Argyropoulos, Toronto
1992 E.W. Dewing, Alcan 2010 K. Coley, McMaster
1993 E. Peters, UBC 2011 H. Henein, Alberta
1994 J.E. Dutrizac, CANMET 2012 R. Guthrie, McGill
1995 A. McLean, Toronto 2013 A. Alfantazi, UBC
1996 C.B. Alcock, Toronto 2014 J. Luo, Albert
1997 W.T. Thompson, RMC 2015 V. G. Papangelakis, Toronto
1998 N.S. McIntyre, Western 2016 I. Zhitomirsky, McMaster
1999 G.P. Demopoulos, McGill 2017 F. Cheng, U of Calgary
2000 C. Bale, Ecole Polytechnic

2018

P. Chartrand, Polytechnique Montreal
2001 D.B. Dreisinger, UBC 2019 David Shoesmith, University of Western Ontario
2002 E. Krause, INCO 2020  –
2003 C. Hansson, Waterloo 2021 Mansoor Barati, University of Toronto
2004 P.Sundararajan, Carleton 2022 Joseph McDermid, McMaster University​
2005 G. Irons, McMaster    

Student Awards

Year Chemistry Physics Poster
1990 B.R. Davis, Queen’s D. Muscat, McGill M.P. Butron-Guillen, McGill
1991 E. Benguerel, McGill Z. He, Manitoba P. Clark
, Queen’s & S.W. Barker, McMaster
1992 R. Shonewille, Toronto W. Poole, McMaster W. Chang, Western
1993 H. Liao, Toronto W. Chang, Western D. Emadi, McGill
1994 M. Torvant, Toronto D.G. Goski, TUNS
P.H. Boldt, McMaster
A.H. Clarke, Western
1995 D.P. Bishop, TUNS P. Wnajara, McGill 
Queen’s A.H.Clarke, Western
1996 J.R. Kish, 
McMaster
K.T.Conlon, McMaster
M.L. Turi, Queen’s B.X. Cheng, Western
1997 S. Omelon, McGill G. Taraschi, McGill S. Ferenczy, Toronto
T.C. Nguyen, Waterloo
1998 K. Jaansulu, RMC C. Leon, McGill K. Boyle, McMaster
1999 N. Porter, Toronto R. Kearsey, Carleton G. Moldoveanu, McGill
2000 M. Kaye, Queen’s H. Jin, Queen’s N.M. Ritsumeikan, McMaster
2001 G. Plascencia-Barrera, Toronto M. Zarinejad, McGill J. Joannides, Toronto
2002 J. Go, UBC
2003 R. Clemmer, Waterloo P. Poruks, Queen’s A. Mark, Queens
S. Sengupta, 
Toronto
2004 S. Turcott, McMaster F. Zarandi, McGill R. Lottey, UBC
2005 J. Fan, McMaster E. Caron, UBC Manitoba
2006 S.J. Jaffer, Waterloo D. Park, McMaster D. Keogh, McMaster
2007 P. Proa-Flores, McGill N. Braidy, McMaster
G. Dmytrowich, U. of Saskatchewan
Q. Zhang, McMaster
E. Bellhouse, McMaster
M. Zaeajev, INRS
Year Oral Presentation Poster Presentation
2015 M. Nemcko, McMaster
W. Judge, Dalhousie
S. Mahboubi, McMaster
J.-H. Poehls, Dalhousie
W. Tan, Toronto

Fracture of Materials, Student Award

Year Recipient
1999 S. Yandt, Carleton
2000 L. Gavard, Ecole Nationale des Mines (visiting McGill)
2002 H. Zhang, U. of Alberta
2004 J. Weiler, Western
2007 Feng Xu, Queen’s

Past Chairs, Vice-Chairs & Conference Venue

Year Chair Vice-Chair Venue
1989 U. Erb, Queen’s R. Harris, McGill RMC
1990 R.A.L. Drew, McGill J.J. Byerley, Waterloo RMC
1991 J.D. Boyd, Queen’s T.A. Utigard, Toronto RMC
1992 D.S. Wilkinson, McMaster A. Petric, McMaster RMC
1993 W.A. Miller, Toronto W.F. Caley, TUNS RMC
1994 W.F. Caley, TUNS H.W. King, Western RMC
1995 H.W. King, Western N.S. McIntyre, Western RMC
1996 N.S. McIntyre, Western G. Demopoulos, McGill Western
1997 G. Demopoulos, McGill G. Palumbo, Ontario Hydro McGill
1998 G. Palumbo, Ontario Hydro D.D. Perovic, Toronto RMC
1999 D.D. Perovic, Toronto G.R. Purdy, McMaster RMC
2000 G.R. Purdy, McMaster P.H. Lindon, Laurentian RMC
2001 P.H. Lindon, Laurentian M. Chaturvedi, Manitoba Laurentian
2002 M. Chaturvedi, Manitoba G. Kipouros, Dalhousie Manitoba
2003 G. Kipouros, Dalhousie J. Beddoes, Carleton Dalhousie
2004 J. Beddoes, Carleton D.M. Maijer, UBC Carleton
2005 D.M. Maijer, UBC M. Brochu, McGill UBC
2006 M. Brochu, McGill G. Botton, McMaster McGill
2007 G.Botton, McMaster Tom Estell/Reg Eadie, U. Alberta McMaster
2008 Tom Estell/Reg Eadie, Alberta U. Alberta
2009 Keith Pilkey/Mark Daymond, Queen’s Queen’s
2010 Stephen Corbin, Waterloo U. Waterloo
2011 L. Bichler/S. Yannacopoulos, UBC (Okanagan) UBC (Okanagan)
2012 R. Klassen, Western Western
2013 N. Provatas/K. Bevan, McGill McGill
2014 J. Szpunar/Q. Yang, Saskatchewan U. Saskatchewan
2015 Stephen Corbin, Dalhousie
2016 Marek Niewczas McMaster
2017 Arnaud Weck Kayla Greydanus U of Ottawa
2018 Anastasia Elias, University of Alberta John Nychka, University of Alberta University of Alberta
2019 M. Millitzer, UBC UBC
2020
Bradley Diak, Queen’s
Canceled
2021
Bradley Diak, Queen’s
Online
2022
Yu Zou and Chandra Singh, UofT
University of Toronto