Head and shoulders image of Wilfrid B. Lewis, honourary Doctor of Science degree recipient; taken possibly near time of presentation.

Bio/Historical Note: Wilfrid Bennett Lewis (1908-1987) was born in Castle Carrock, Cumberland, England. He earned a doctorate in physics at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge in 1934, and continued his research in nuclear physics there until 1939. From 1939-1946 he was with the Air Ministry, becoming Chief Superintendent of the Telecommunications Research Establishment. In 1946 he moved to Canada to become director of the division of Atomic Energy Research at the National Research Council of Canada in Chalk River, Ontario. From 1952-1963 he was Vice President, Research and Development of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, and was Senior Vice President, Science from 1963-1973. Starting in the mid-1940s Lewis directed the development and championed the CANDU system, with its natural uranium fuel moderated by heavy water (deuterium oxide) to control neutron flux. The CANDU has proven its value for commercial power applications, showing outstanding efficiency and safety records. AECL also became a world leader in the production of radioisotopes for medical purposes. From 1955 until 1987, he was the Canadian Representative on the United Nations Scientific Advisory Committee. From 1973 until his death in 1987, Lewis was a Distinguished Professor of Science at Queen's University.