Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, April 9, 2010 – Mike Lazaridis, Chair of the Board of Directors of Canada’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI), is pleased to announce the appointment of The Honourable Kevin Lynch and Dr. Steve MacLean to the Institute’s Board.

The Honourable Kevin Lynch is a distinguished former public servant with 33 years of service with the Government of Canada. Most recently, Dr. Lynch was Clerk of the Privy Council, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Public Service of Canada. In these roles, he served as the principal public service advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, managed the Cabinet process on behalf of the government, and led the 260,000-strong federal public service. Prior roles included Deputy Minister of Finance, Deputy Minister of Industry, and Executive Director (Canada, Ireland, Caribbean) of the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Lynch was made a Member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in 2009. He is presently the Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group.

Dr. Steve MacLean is President of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), a role he has held since 2008. A physicist by training, he received a B.Sc. Honours and PhD in Physics from York University. In 1983 he was selected as one of the first six Canadian astronauts, and in 1992 he flew onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on Mission STS-52. His second mission to space came in 2006 on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, where he became the first Canadian to operate Canadarm2 on the International Space Station, and the second Canadian to walk in space. In addition to senior roles within the CSA and his extensive experience with NASA and the International Space Station, he is a strong supporter of science literacy and child education.

According to Mike Lazaridis, PI Board Chair, “Kevin Lynch and Steve MacLean are exceptionally strong additions to Perimeter’s team. They bring decades of hands-on experience, ranging from policy, finance and management expertise to scientific research and outreach interests. We look forward to their participation as we advance PI’s ambitious plans for the future.”

 
The Honourable Kevin Lynch

Dr. Steve MacLean

About Perimeter Institute 

Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, non-profit, scientific research and educational outreach organization where international scientists cluster to push the limits of our understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter and information. The centre provides a multi-disciplinary environment to foster scientific collaboration in research areas of cosmology, particle physics, quantum foundations, quantum gravity, quantum information, superstring theory, and related disciplines. PI also provides a wide array of award-winning outreach programs for students, teachers and the general public across Canada in order to share the joy of research, discovery and innovation. In partnership with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, PI continues to be a successful example of private and public collaboration in science research and education.  http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/

Media Contact: Angela Robinson, arobinson@perimeterinstitute.ca