Howard Alper

Who is Howard Alper?

Howard Alper, OC FRSC 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.

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 was the Vice-President from 1997–2006, and from 2001 to 2003, was the President of the Royal Society of Canada.

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. Dr. Alper is currently serving as the Chair of Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council, and as one of the two co-chairs of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues..