HALIFAX — Canadian astrophysicist Arthur McDonald — last year's winner of the Nobel physics prize — was among five people awarded the Order of Nova Scotia during a ceremony today at the provincial legislature.
McDonald, a retired professor originally from Sydney, N.S., was the co-winner of a Nobel prize for his work on subatomic particles known as neutrinos.
The province's highest honour was also awarded to Prof. Francoise Baylis, a Halifax-based expert in bioethics who teaches at Dalhousie University, and Doug Knockwood of Indian Brook, a Mi'kmaq elder who survived residential schooling, homelessness and alcoholism to become a spiritual leader for his people.
Another winner was Jim Morrow, artistic director of Mermaid Theatre in Windsor, whose larger-than-life puppets have thrilled audiences around the world.
Donald Reid of Joggins was invested into the Order of Nova Scotia for his lifelong work collecting fossils along the now-famous cliffs near his home.
His collection — 70 years in the making — represents the world’s most complete fossil record of terrestrial life of the Coal Age, dating back 300 million years.
