Fernand Seguin

Education and Career

Fernand Seguin obtained a master’s degree in biological science from Université de Montréal in 1945. His MA thesis, concerning a method to determine the aminopyrine in the blood, won him the Casgrain-Charbonneau Prize (1945). He conducted biochemical research in the late 1940s in Chicago and Paris and was professor at Université de Montréal from 1945 to 1950. In 1950 he founded the biochemical research department at Saint-Jean-de-Dieu hospital, where he specialized in research into the biological causes of schizophrenia.

Science Popularization

In 1954 Fernand Seguin abandoned his career as a researcher and teacher and began a long series of radio and television programs which sparked the emergence of popular scientific curiosity in Quebec and inspired a number of scientific careers. This was followed by programmess for adults: Le Roman de la science (1956-60), Aux frontières de la science (1960-61) and L'Homme devant la science. With Le Sel de la semaine (1965-70), he became more of a science critic. From 1975 to 1977 he hosted Science Réalité (1975-77), a weekly TV show. (See also CBC/Radio-Canada.)

Publications

• La bombe et l’orchidée (1987)
• Le cristal et la chimère (1988)

Honours and Awards

In 1977 Fernand Seguin became the first Canadian to receive UNESCO's Kalinga Prize, the highest award for scientific popularization, joining the ranks of Bertrand Russell (1957), Julian Huxley (1953) and Margaret Mead (1970). In addition to this prize, Seguin was the recipient of numerous honours, including:

• Archambault Medal, l’Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des Sciences (1961)
• Doctorat honorifique, Université de Sherbrooke (1975)
• Officer,Order of Canada (1978)
• Honorary doctorate, Concordia University (1979)
• Honorary doctorate, Université de Montréal (1980)
• Honorary doctorate, Université du Québec (1983)
• Officer, Ordre national du Québec (1985)
• Companion, Order of Canada (1988)
• Sandford Fleming Medal, Royal Canadian Institute (1988)