Dr. Bourns has made many important contributions to chemistry and has acquired an international reputation in the field of physical-organic chemistry. He was one of the first in Canada to apply kinetic and equilibrium isotope effects in the elucidation of reaction mechanisms and is an international authority in this field. His publications are of a fundamental nature and represent important contributions to our understanding of organic reactions. He has been a regular participant in the annual symposium on reaction mechanisms held by the Organic Section of the American Chemical Society. In 1959-60 he was Vice-Chairman of the Gordon Research Conference on 'The Chemistry and Physics of Isotopes' and has been elected Chairman for the 1961-62 conference. Recently he was invited to convene and chair the symposium on physical organic chemistry to be held in June 1961 by the Royal Society of Canada. He receives many invitations to speak about his current researches from both Canadian and American institutions. Since he became Dean of the Graduate Faculty at McMaster University in 1957, he has not only made important research contributions of his own but has done much to encourage research in other departments of the university. He is a particularly strong candidate for fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada.

Dr. Bousfield has achieved world recognition as systematist and marine biogeographer, specializing in the Crustacea and Mollusca of the Canadian seaboard and of New England. He has greatly advanced the field of the 'new systematics' (combining taxonomy, ecology and paleontology), and he has extended his studies on a worldwide basis, particularly concerning the amphipods of the South Pacific including New Zealand. His interest in burrowing amphipods resulted in the discovery of the very large haustoriid complex endemic to the Atlantic coast. He has also done important work on the freshwater amphipods of glaciated North America and on the gammarids of the world. Additional research interests (1980 to present) include systematics of amphipod crustaceans of the Pacific Coast of Canada, biology of sea serpents of the Canadian Pacific region, and classification of Cambrian arthropods.

For the past 25 years Dr. John Bowman has been conducting investigations which have led to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Rh hemolytic disease in newborn infants. Initial approaches included amniotic fluid analysis to detect the severity of the disease and in 1964 he introduced the technique of transfusion of the fetus with severe disease, which improved dramatically the survival rate from 10% to 90%. His early experiments on Rh prevention with the Rh Immune Globulin which resulted in its licensure in Canada and his fundamental work on Rh prevention reduced failure rate of this therapy to 0.15%. As a result of the pioneering efforts of the Winnipeg laboratory a common disease with a high mortality rate has effectively been eradicated in our lifetime. In recognition of this remarkable achievement Dr. Bowman was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1983.