Dr. Kimberly Strong is this year’s Elizabeth Laird Lecturer and will be giving the Keynote speech. We would like to recognize her for her groundbreaking work in establishing new observing capabilities in the Canadian Arctic as well as her dedication to studying the processes that drive atmospheric change. We would also like to acknowledge her role in pioneering women in physics as the chair of the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto.
This lecture series was initiated in 1970 to honour Professor Elizabeth Rebecca Laird—a long-time associate, colleague, and friend of the Physics Department at The University of Western Ontario. It was the first lecture series in the Faculty of Science at Western to carry the name of an individual, which is particularly fitting since she accomplished so many “firsts” in her long and distinguished career.
Dr. Elizabeth Rebecca Laird was born in Owen Sound, Ontario on December 6th, 1874. Laird wanted to start her graduate work immediately after receiving her B.A. in 1896 from the University of Toronto. Her scholarship applications were rejected on the basis of gender, despite the fact that she had been first in her class for three years.
From 1901 to 1940, as Professor and Head of the Mount Holyoke physics department, Laird trained many women who became active physicists and set an example for the participation of women in research.
In World War II, Laird came out of retirement to work at The University of Western Ontario on the development of radar. She made substantial contributions and was invited to remain at the University. She was a remarkable person.