One of SNOLAB’s founding directors, Dr. David Sinclair, celebrated

As part of its 2023 fall convocation ceremonies, Carleton University has bestowed an honorary degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on the remarkable Dr. David Sinclair in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of experimental sub-atomic physics and for his leading role as a builder of both SNO and SNOLAB.

“SNOLAB exists today because of the vision and hard work of people like David Sinclair,” says current SNOLAB Executive Director Dr. Jodi Cooley. “So many people have dedicated their professional lives to the creation of SNO and SNOLAB, as David did. It’s always an honour to be able to celebrate the achievement of people in our community.”

Dr. Sinclair returned to Canada in 1985 from his post-doc work in Copenhagen and lecturing at Oxford to play a lead role as Deputy Director and Associate Director (Science) in the development of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, while working at Carleton. His work addressing fundamental questions in elementary particle physics, astrophysics, and the evolution of the universe helped pave the way for turning the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment into the permanent underground facility SNOLAB is today.

This award is the latest in a long line of achievements for Sinclair. He has previously been honoured with the inaugural Gold Medal for Research Achievement at Carleton, the NSERC Polanyi Award for Research, the Erich Vogt TRIUMF CAP Medal for Subatomic Physics, an honorary of Doctor of Science from Queen’s University, and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Sinclair has also been named a Davidson Dunton Research lecturer, elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, named chancellor’s professor at Carleton, and is an officer of the Order of Canada.

For more on the legacy of SNO, see 30 Years of SNO.

Learn more about SNOLAB’s awards and recognitions.