Physicist honoured with 2018 Paul Paré Medal of Excellence
SACKVILLE, NB — Dr. David Fleming, Mount Allison University professor, has received the 2018 Paul Paré Medal of Excellence — the University’s pre-eminent award for faculty. Fleming will receive the Medal during Mount Allison’s Convocation ceremonies on May 14.
The Paul Paré Medal recognizes outstanding teaching, research, scholarship and/or creative activities. Established at Mount Allison in 1994, it is funded by the Paul Paré Endowment Fund.Fleming, an award-winning researcher and former Canada Research Chair in medical physics, says it’s an honour to receive the award at this time in his career.
“It feels really great to be recognized with the Paul Paré Medal,” says Fleming. “Our research is now at a stage where it has started to be directly applied in areas of medical physics. It’s exciting to be at a point where our work is being used to help with important advancements in the medical field.”
Dr. Jeff Ollerhead, Mount Allison Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Research says Fleming is an outstanding researcher, teacher, and mentor.
“David’s research program has made important, international contributions in the area of medical physics,” says Ollerhead. “His work with collaborators on and off campus, including many undergraduate students, is commendable. I wish to congratulate him on this latest honour.”
Fleming, a Mount Allison alumnus, has been a physics professor for nearly 20 years. He runs an active research program which includes using X-ray technology for trace element detection in tissue samples and people.
Focusing on lead, arsenic, and zinc, Fleming and his research team, made up of Canadian and international collaborators and Mount Allison students, can measure trace elements in nail samples using X-rays. This provides an accurate, non-invasive, and economical measurement.
The lab has collaborated with a number of organizations including the Atlantic PATH Medical Study, part of the largest chronic disease study in Canada and has received a significant amount of external funding including a current five-year Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Throughout his career, Fleming has made outstanding leadership contributions; most noteworthy, serving as Chair of the Division of Medical and Biological Physics of the Canadian Association of Physicists. In addition, he was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Pugwash Group, currently sits on the NSERC Physics and Astronomy Scholarships Committee and has served on the Council of the Canadian Association of Physicists and as Physics Department head at Mount Allison.
