Howard Alper, CC FRSC (born October 17, 1941) is a Canadian chemist. He is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Ottawa. He is best known for his research of catalysis in chemistry.

Howard Alper
Born (1941-10-17) October 17, 1941 (age 82)
Alma materSir George Williams University
McGill University
AwardsOrder of Canada
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
InstitutionsState University of New York
University of Ottawa
Thesis Reactions of iron pentacarbonyl with organic compounds  (1967)
Doctoral advisorJohn "Jack" T. Edward
Doctoral studentsCathleen Crudden

Career and research edit

Born in Montreal, Quebec, he received a Bachelor of Science from Sir George Williams University in 1963 and a Ph.D. from McGill University in 1967. In 1968, he started teaching at the State University of New York and became an associate professor in 1971. He joined the University of Ottawa in 1975 as an associate professor and was appointed a Professor in 1978, later being made a Distinguished University Professor in 2006. He has published over 400 papers, has over forty patents, and has edited several books.

He was the vice-president (Research) of the University of Ottawa from 1997 to 2006. From 2001 to 2003, he was the President of the Royal Society of Canada.

Alper served as the Chair of Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council[1] from 2007 to 2015, and as one of the two co-chairs of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues from 2006 to 2013.

Honours edit

He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1984. In 1998, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2000, he was awarded the first Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, Canada's highest research honour in the field. In 2014, he was made a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[2] He was elevated to a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2020.[3] In 2015, Professor Alper was awarded an honorary Ph.D. by the University of Pretoria.[4]

External links edit

  • "University of Ottawa's Howard Alper First Winner of New NSERC Herzberg Medal". Retrieved January 24, 2006.
  • "Vice-President, Research biography". Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved January 24, 2006.
  • "Howard Alper, O.C, Ph.D., FRSC". Archived from the original on December 19, 2005. Retrieved January 24, 2006.
  • "NATO SA Science & Society Newsletter Issue No. 51, February/March 1999". Archived from the original on January 21, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2006.

References edit

Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the Royal Society of Canada
2001–2003
Succeeded by