Arthur B. McDonald
Arthur B. McDonald | |
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Born | Arthur Bruce McDonald August 29, 1943 Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater |
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Known for | Solving the solar neutrino problem |
Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Astrophysics |
Institutions | |
Thesis | Excitation energies and decay properties of T = 3/2 states in 17O, 17F and 21Na. (1970) |
Doctoral advisor | Charles A. Barnes |
Website | www |
Arthur Bruce McDonald,
Early life
Art McDonald was born on August 29, 1943,[1] in Sydney, Nova Scotia.[2] He graduated with a B.Sc. in physics in 1964 and M.Sc. in physics in 1965 from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.[3] He then obtained his Ph.D. in physics in 1969 from the California Institute of Technology.[4] McDonald cited a high school math teacher and his first-year physics professor at Dalhousie as his inspirations for going into the field of physics.[5]
Academic career
Art McDonald worked as a research officer at the
McDonald was a visiting scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva in 2004.[6]
In 2013 McDonald became a
His visiting positions include
Research
Physicists have been investigating whether or not neutrinos have mass. Since the late 1960s, experiments have hinted that neutrinos may have mass. Theoretical models of the Sun predict that neutrinos should be made in large numbers. Neutrino detectors on the Earth have repeatedly seen fewer than the expected number of neutrinos. Because neutrinos come in three varieties (electron, muon, and tau neutrinos), and because solar neutrino detectors have been primarily sensitive only to electron neutrinos, the preferred explanation over the years is that those "missing" neutrinos had changed, or oscillated, into a variety for which the detectors had little or no sensitivity. If a neutrino oscillates, according to the laws of quantum mechanics, then it must have a mass.[7]
In 1984, McDonald's collaborator
In August 2001, the
Professor McDonald is now participating in research with the SNO+ and DEAP-3600 experiments at SNOLAB, an expanded underground laboratory at the original SNO underground site and with the DarkSide-20k collaboration developing an experiment at the underground laboratory near Gran Sasso, Italy.
Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute
The Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute was inaugurally named the Canadian Particle Astrophysics Research Centre before renaming itself the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute in May 2018, in recognition of Dr. Arthur B. McDonald's trailblazing work making Canada a leader in astroparticle physics.
Humanitarian work
In the spring of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing shortages, McDonald became one of the leaders of a project to mass-produce mechanical ventilators at low cost.[13] McDonald has stated that the project was initiated by Princeton Professor Cristiano Galbiati who was locked down in Milan, Italy.[14] He inspired action by his colleagues on the DarkSide-20k Dark Matter physics experiment after recognizing the similarities between the requirements of a ventilator and those of particle physics experiments.[15] McDonald led the Canadian team with members from TRIUMF laboratory, CNL Chalk River, SNOLAB and the McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute after strong positive response from the Directors of these institutions. The design, called the Mechanical Ventilator Milano, is based on the Manley ventilator but uses modern electronics wherever possible.[16] The details, first published on March 23 by about 150 collaborators, were released under the CERN Open Hardware Licence.[17] The project received the support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who anticipated an initial order of 30,000 to Canadian hospitals from several suppliers.[18] An order has been placed for 10,000 units with Vexos, Markham.
Selected honours and awards
- 1983, Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 1998, Canada Council Killam Research Fellowship[19]
- 2003, Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering
- 2005, Bruno Pontecorvo Prize in Particle Physics, JINR, Dubna
- 2006, Officer of the Order of Canada[20]
- 2007, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics with Yoji Totsuka[4]
- 2009, Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) of the UK and Commonwealth[21]
- 2009, Member of Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame
- 2010, Canada Council Killam Prize in Natural Sciences[19]
- 2011, Royal Society of Canada's Henry Marshall Tory Medal[22]
- 2012, Member of the Order of Ontario
- 2015, Nobel Prize in Physics (jointly with Takaaki Kajita)[23]
- 2015, Promotion to Companion of the Order of Canada[24]
- 2016, asteroid
- 2016, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (with the SNO Collaboration)
- 2016, Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences[27]
- 2016, Member of the Order of Nova Scotia[28]
References
- ^ "McDonald, Prof. Arthur Bruce". Who's Who. Vol. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Past Winner 2003 NSERC Award of Excellence McDonald". Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ a b "CV Arthur B. McDonald" (PDF). www.queensu.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
- ^ a b c "Arthur B. McDonald". www.fi.edu. The Franklin Institute. 2014-01-15. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ Gibson, Victoria (October 8, 2015). "Queen's professor awarded Nobel Prize". Queen's Journal. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015". Retrieved 2016-12-15.
- ^ a b "Interview with Arthur B. McDonald". Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Perimeter Institute. 2012. Archived from the original on 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ^ "Arthur B. McDonald Biographical". Nobel Media AB. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- PMID 10031848.
- ^ Ewan, G.T.; Davidson, W.F. (2005). "Early Development of the Underground SNO Laboratory in Canada" (PDF). Physics in Canada. 61: 339–346, 347–350. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ Spears, Tom (9 November 2015). "Neutrino Nobel winner Art McDonald nabs second big physics prize". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Knox, Melinda (2020-04-07). "Easy=to-build ventilators". Queen's Gazette. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
- ^ "Cristiano Galbiati". Department of Physics. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ Semeniuk, Ivan (2020-03-29). "Nobel laureate leads push for simple made-in-Canada ventilator". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
- ^ Shen, Allan (2020-04-07). "U. physicist, colleagues develop ventilator prototype amidst national equipment shortage". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
- PMID 33897243.
- ^ Cousins, Ben (2020-04-07). "Nobel Prize winner helping create simple ventilator for mass production in Canada". CTV News. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
- ^ a b "Search Results: Arthur B. McDonald". Killam Laureates. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Order of Canada citation". 2018-06-11.
- ^ "Arthur McDonald biography". Royal Society. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ^ "Henry Marshall Tory Medal". Royal Society of Canada. Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015". www.nobelprize.org.
- ^ "Order of Canada Appointments". The Governor General of Canada His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "229781 Arthurmcdonald (2008 PS1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ National Academy of Sciences Members and Foreign Associates Elected, News from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, May 3, 2016, archived from the original on May 6, 2016, retrieved 2016-05-14.
- ^ "Order of Nova Scotia". Retrieved 2016-12-08.