An influential Canadian oceanographer has been named a laureate
of the 2001 Japan Prize, Japan’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize.
University of British Columbia Prof. Emeritus Timothy Parsons,
whose career in oceanography spans more than four decades including
21 years at UBC, is the first Canadian to be recognized with Japan’s
highest award in science and technology.
The award recognizes Parsons’ contributions to the development
of fisheries oceanography and for conservation of fisheries resources
and the marine environment.
“The University of British Columbia is extremely proud and pleased
to see Dr. Parsons receive such prominent recognition,” says UBC
President Martha Piper. “He has made enormous contributions to the
field of fisheries oceanography, and his work has signaled the beginning
of a new interdisciplinary era in renewable resource management
and conservation. He is a truly worthy laureate of the Japan Prize.”
Parsons will be presented with a medal, a certificate of merit
and a cash prize of 50 million yen (approximately $685,000) at a
ceremony April 27, 2001 in Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese emperor and
empress will be present at the event.
Parsons’ career includes service for Fisheries and Oceans Canada
from 1958-71 as a research scientist at the Fisheries Research Board
of Canada, Nanaimo, B.C. From 1962-64, he served at the Office of
Oceanography for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.
“Congratulations to Dr. Parsons for his significant achievements
and contributions to the discipline of marine science,” says Herb
Dhaliwal, minister of Fisheries and Oceans. “Dr. Parsons’ innovative
work earned him a great deal of respect from peers around the world
and winning this prestigious award exemplifies his distinguished
and successful career.”
Parsons has focused on developing a method of fisheries management
based on the dynamic relationships between marine life and their
physical, chemical and biological environments — how they fit into
the sea’s food web.
His work has shown how accurate measure of environmental factors
leads to a better understanding of ecosystem structure and function.
His efforts have influenced a new school of holistic ocean scientists
and managers.
Parsons joined UBC’s oceanography department in 1971, where he
remains a professor emeritus since his retirement from the university
in 1992. He is also currently an honorary scientist emeritus at
the Institute of Ocean Sciences, a Fisheries and Oceans Canada research
facility in Sidney, B.C.
The Japan Prize, now in its 17th year, is given worldwide by the
Science and Technology Foundation of Japan to a recipient in each
of two rotating prize categories. It recognizes original and outstanding
achievements in science and technology that have advanced the frontiers
of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind.
Among the past recipients of the Japan Prize are five Nobel Prize
winners.
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