2003 Fredericton Encaenia - Ceremony C
Hynes, H.B. Noel
Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
Orator: Patterson, Stephen E.
Citation:
ENCAENIA, MAY, 2003
H.B. NOEL HYNES
to be Doctor of Science
Dr. Noel Hynes is a world-renowned freshwater biologist, considered by many to be "the father of running water ecology." That short phrase scarcely covers the breadth of his interests. He is an entomologist whose interest in Stoneflies or Plecoptera has been a constant in his career wherever it has taken him. He is a zoologist who has studied freshwater shrimps, crabs and other fauna in rivers as far flung as Britain, Canada, and Australia. He is a limnologist who has examined almost every aspect of freshwater stream environments and the impact on those environments of water level fluctuations, insecticide use, rotting leaves, excessive nutrients and other pollutants. The field of limnology itself is one of those hybrids that crosses the traditional boundaries separating geology, hydrology, chemistry, zoology, botany and more. That is Dr. Hynes's genius: he crosses boundaries in order to tell us what is going on in our rivers and streams, and to identify whatever might threaten pure water and valuable water life. To call him simply a freshwater biologist hardly seems to do him justice.
He was born in England and spent the first half of his life there. He attended Imperial College, London, where he received his B.Sc. in Biology, the A.R.C.S from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and his Ph.D., from the University of London. For six years, he worked as an entomologist, mostly in the locust control program in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In 1947, he joined the teaching faculty in the Department of Zoology at the University of Liverpool, and there he remained for seventeen years. After a brilliant career there, during which he published more than 50 scholarly works, he accepted the invitation of the new University of Waterloo in Canada to come and chair its Department of Biology. Waterloo wanted an established and highly regarded scholar to give its program instant credibility, and this it achieved with Dr. Hynes's appointment. He found himself in demand all over North America as a lecturer, seminar participant, and consultant. He not only brought prestige to the Waterloo department, but he continued to expand his knowledge of freshwater ecology not only in Canada but also in Australia, Africa, and elsewhere. His lucky students at Waterloo benefited from the depth and breadth of his experience while they studied from his book, The Ecology of Running Waters, the definitive text on river ecology. During his career, Dr. Hynes supervised over 40 graduate students, and published at least 200 articles and books.
Needless to say, this leader in his field has been much honoured. In 1978, he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada; in 1985, he received the Hilary Jolly Award of the Australian Society for Limnology; in 1988, the Award of Excellence of the North American Benthological Society; and in 1998, the Naumann-Thienemann Award of the Societas Internationalis Limnologiciae, which is the highest award available to an aquatic biologist. He has, in addition, D.Sc. degrees from the University of London and the University of Waterloo, and on his retirement from Waterloo, he was designated Distinguished Emeritus Professor.
Even in retirement, Dr. Hynes maintains a busy schedule that takes him to many parts of the world, leaving just a little time for him to visit his grown children, who, like their father, are attached to the academic life in leading universities. It is our great pleasure to welcome Dr. Hynes back to UNB where he has previously lectured, and to thank him, not only for the example of his dedicated and accomplished career, but also for his generosity in giving so freely of his time to all who find his lucid examination of freshwater biology fascinating. He honours us by his presence here today.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 4
H.B. NOEL HYNES
to be Doctor of Science
Dr. Noel Hynes is a world-renowned freshwater biologist, considered by many to be "the father of running water ecology." That short phrase scarcely covers the breadth of his interests. He is an entomologist whose interest in Stoneflies or Plecoptera has been a constant in his career wherever it has taken him. He is a zoologist who has studied freshwater shrimps, crabs and other fauna in rivers as far flung as Britain, Canada, and Australia. He is a limnologist who has examined almost every aspect of freshwater stream environments and the impact on those environments of water level fluctuations, insecticide use, rotting leaves, excessive nutrients and other pollutants. The field of limnology itself is one of those hybrids that crosses the traditional boundaries separating geology, hydrology, chemistry, zoology, botany and more. That is Dr. Hynes's genius: he crosses boundaries in order to tell us what is going on in our rivers and streams, and to identify whatever might threaten pure water and valuable water life. To call him simply a freshwater biologist hardly seems to do him justice.
He was born in England and spent the first half of his life there. He attended Imperial College, London, where he received his B.Sc. in Biology, the A.R.C.S from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and his Ph.D., from the University of London. For six years, he worked as an entomologist, mostly in the locust control program in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In 1947, he joined the teaching faculty in the Department of Zoology at the University of Liverpool, and there he remained for seventeen years. After a brilliant career there, during which he published more than 50 scholarly works, he accepted the invitation of the new University of Waterloo in Canada to come and chair its Department of Biology. Waterloo wanted an established and highly regarded scholar to give its program instant credibility, and this it achieved with Dr. Hynes's appointment. He found himself in demand all over North America as a lecturer, seminar participant, and consultant. He not only brought prestige to the Waterloo department, but he continued to expand his knowledge of freshwater ecology not only in Canada but also in Australia, Africa, and elsewhere. His lucky students at Waterloo benefited from the depth and breadth of his experience while they studied from his book, The Ecology of Running Waters, the definitive text on river ecology. During his career, Dr. Hynes supervised over 40 graduate students, and published at least 200 articles and books.
Needless to say, this leader in his field has been much honoured. In 1978, he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada; in 1985, he received the Hilary Jolly Award of the Australian Society for Limnology; in 1988, the Award of Excellence of the North American Benthological Society; and in 1998, the Naumann-Thienemann Award of the Societas Internationalis Limnologiciae, which is the highest award available to an aquatic biologist. He has, in addition, D.Sc. degrees from the University of London and the University of Waterloo, and on his retirement from Waterloo, he was designated Distinguished Emeritus Professor.
Even in retirement, Dr. Hynes maintains a busy schedule that takes him to many parts of the world, leaving just a little time for him to visit his grown children, who, like their father, are attached to the academic life in leading universities. It is our great pleasure to welcome Dr. Hynes back to UNB where he has previously lectured, and to thank him, not only for the example of his dedicated and accomplished career, but also for his generosity in giving so freely of his time to all who find his lucid examination of freshwater biology fascinating. He honours us by his presence here today.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 4
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