SPRING 2017 COURSE CORRECTION: LAWYER NAIOMI METALLIC, CHANCELLor’s CHAIR IN ABORIGINAL LAW AND POLICY CANADA POST PUBLI CANADA POST C ATIONS: MAIL ATIONS: P M41901013 PLUS HERZBERG WINNERS /// COUNTDOWN TO 200 /// BhANGRA BOOSTER WE’RE COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS TO OUR 200th ANNIVERSARY Signature celebrations on campus. Events within our Adventure communities. Alumni gatherings across the globe. Whether Discover what’s beyond the horizon, you’re nearby or half a world away, there are many ways to take the way explorers always have – by sea. part in Dal’s bicentennial year. DON’T MISS OUT. UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. VISIT ALUMNI.DAL.CA/ UPDATE200 WE’RE BRINGING DALHOUSIE TO ALUMNI ACROSS CANADA. SHOW YOUR DAL PRIDE In April 2018, Dal will be hitting the road with the Coast-to-Coast Bus Tour. This is an opportunity for Request your free decal at: our community of 130,000+ alumni and friends to alumni.dal.ca/decal gather and celebrate. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: April 21 Vancouver June 6 Ottawa April 23 Edmonton June 7 Toronto April 25 Calgary September 13 Saint John April 26 Saskatoon September 14 Charlottetown April 27 Winnipeg September 17 St. John’s June 5 Montreal September 28 Halifax/Truro We can’t wait to see you in 2018! Book online using coupon code DAL ALUMNI DAL20 to save 20% off passenger @Dal_Alumni dalumni and vehicle fares.* Dalhousie University alumni.dal.ca SAVE 20% *AVAILABLE DURING THE 2017 SAILING SEASON - SOME TERMS APPLY Adventure Discover what’s beyond the horizon, the way explorers always have – by sea. Book online using coupon code DAL ALUMNI DAL20 to save 20% off passenger and vehicle fares.* SAVE 20% *AVAILABLE DURING THE 2017 SAILING SEASON - SOME TERMS APPLY Visit our website at dal.ca/dalmag CONTENTS SPRING 2017 urning 200 is a rare and important mile- and birthday cake with Dal Tigers at the stone—how many organizations actual- Emera Oval. ly begin a third century? Like significant • Bicentennial address: On February 6, personal milestones, anniversaries are we’ll be unveiling the vision for our next Tan opportunity to reflect and take stock, to con- century, along with a new ceremonial nect or reconnect, to think about where we’ve object, 200th anniversary poem and come from and where we’re going. They are convocation music. features also about recognizing and thanking those who • African Nova Scotia Music Association helped along the way. Awards: Coming to campus in February. We’re approaching Dal’s 200th in much the • Frankenstein : The play edition, adapted same way. What are the stories from the past by Dal grad Gillian Clark (BA’13) and that we should tell? What is driving us toward performed by students at the Fountain the future? How can we create opportunities for School, sees Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel alumni to connect to each other and the univer- reimagined for the stage. sity? What relationships are important to build or • Year of Belonging: A robust program COUNTDOWN TO 200 rebuild? How can we say an enthusiastic ‘thank exploring how we create a world where you’ to all who contribute to Dal’s success? we all belong, concluding with the We’re less than a year away from November launch of the Viola Desmond DIVERSE AND INSPIRING Legacy Lecture Series. marking Dal’s bicentennial. Chair of From the moment we started researching and • Great Debate: In April, experts challenge planning—with dozens of brainstorming ses- each other in response to the question the planning committee, Catherine sions and more Post-its than you can imagine— ‘What is the next frontier—the ocean or Bagnell Styles, shares the latest plans the creative, thoughtful ideas just kept coming. outer space?’ We’re less than a year away from marking Dal’s A remarkable number of faculty, staff, students, • Dal Bus: Travelling coast to coast COUNTDOWN TO 200 and how you can get involved alumni and retirees have shared ideas and en- throughout the year, stopping along the thusiasm. And the interest from our community way for alumni receptions, school visits to work with us on this event is equally exciting. and more. The bicentennial program is diverse, thought- • Plus alumni chapter events around the ful, fun, robust and inspiring. There will be ac- world, our biggest Homecoming ever bicentennial. Chair of the planning committee, Catherine Bagnell Styles, tivities locally, nationally and internationally and in September and the launch of a new wherever possible, they will be webcast. It in- coffee-table pictorial celebration of cludes nationally and internationally recognized Dalhousie. speakers, legacy projects, conferences, partner- ships with community organizations, original START AT DAL200.CA shares the latest plans and how you can get involved. entertainment productions and the telling and How can you get involved? Start by visiting sharing of so many Dal stories. Dal200.ca. It’s the best resource for all 200th in- formation—and it’s also the place to post your LOTS TO CHOOSE FROM Dal story: share your fondest memory, your fa- Many of the details are still being finalized, and vourite prof, lessons learned and more. Watch 12 some we want to keep under our hat a little for 200th news from your faculty. And buy some longer, but here are a few details to whet your swag—the Dal bookstore has a terrific selection page 12 appetite. of 200th branded gear dal.ca/bookstore. • Dal Originals: 52 stories and videos about Make plans to attend—and help us make Dal people who inspired, provoked and plans for even more ways to celebrate! Ideas are changed our world. Watch for a video still welcome, and you can share yours by email- teaser in December at dal200.ca. ing [email protected]. • New Year’s Day 2018: The 200th starts Thank you for being part of the first 200 years. with a community-wide family skate Here’s to 2018! A SEAT AT THE TaBLE When Dalhousie Chancellor Anne McLellan studied DAL SPRING 2017 DAL SPRING 2017 law at Dal, Aboriginal issues were rarely discussed. Now, thanks to her 12 13 funding of the Chancellor’s Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy, lawyer Naiomi Metallic is helping ensure that’s no longer the case. By Jane Doucet A2 SEAT AT page 14 THE TABLE TRIPLE THREAT Dal-based researchers have won the Herzberg Canada Gold Medal three times in four years, a rare feat. Meet the minds who are pushing the university’s research profile to the national and international When Dalhousie Chancellor Anne McLellan (left) studied stage like never before. By Ryan McNutt law at Dal, Aboriginal issues were rarely discussed. Now, thanks to McLellan’s funding of the Chancellor’s page 20 Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy, lawyer Naiomi Metallic (right) is helping ensure that’s no longer the case. By Jane Doucet 14 KENZIE FRASER c AARON M DAL SPRING 2017 DAL SPRING 2017 regulars on the cover 14 15 5 Dal News 14 Course correction triple threat Three Herzberg Canada Gold Medal 27 Dal Alumni 20 Herzberg winners winners in four years is an extraordinary run for Dalhousie. By Ryan McNutt 28 Building a Better World 12 Countdown to 200 A molecular biologist who has reshaped our 30 Campaign 5 Bhangra booster understanding of genetics 32, 34, 36 multiple times over. Spotlight A theoretical chemist with two of the most cited 38 Events papers of all time. A battery researcher 40 Class Notes helping supercharge a 43 In Memoriam sustainable energy future. 20 44 Connections DAL SPRING 2017 DAL SPRING 2017 20 21 DAL SPRING 2017 2 Contact us at [email protected] masthead contributors editorial ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT, CATHERINE BAGNELL STYLES is COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING the assistant vice-president of Catherine Bagnell Styles Communications and Marketing at RESISTING #NotUs EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Dalhousie University. She chairs the Brian Leadbetter, Hope McCallum, 200th anniversary committee. When confronting the difficult truths of Can- Ryan McNutt, Julia Watt ada’s interactions with Aboriginal people, CONSULTING EDITOR JANE DOUCET is a communications it’s tempting to climb “Mount Distant”, and Kim Pittaway specialist at the Schulich School of attempt to remove yourself from emotion— Law at Dalhousie. Previously a Toronto- and perhaps accountability—by adopting a ADVERTISING MANAGER based magazine editor, she continues Patty Baxter, Metro Guide Publishing to contribute to various Canadian and third-person voice. Or you might slide over to ART DIRECTOR American publications and websites. “Finger-wag Hill”, slip into second-person Fran Ornstein and berate everyone else for what they’ve got PUBLICATION DESIGN RYAN MCNUTT is a senior wrong and what you know is right. Coming Watkins Communication and Design communications advisor with Dalhousie down to eye-level (I-level?) can feel risky, as I PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Communications and Marketing and a fear I’ll say the wrong thing, or presume that Jane Lombard freelance music journalist whose work my perspective—as a middle-class white wom- has been featured in Maisonneuve, The Walrus, Exclaim! and AUX. an in a society that gives people like me advan- tages—is more universal than it actually is. CLASS NOTES [email protected] MATT REEDER spent more than three The truth is especially tricky to face when it IN MEMORIAM [email protected] years as senior online editor at the runs counter to what was taught at school or ADDRESS CHANGES Financial Post and four years in the told at home, when it challenges the stories Tel: (902) 494-6855; 1 (800) 565-9969 digital newsroom at Reuters prior to of a community or a country. It’s tempting to Email: [email protected] joining Dalhousie’s Communications and meet that truth of residential schools, systemic Alumni Records, Office of Advancement, Marketing team.