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Ian Cormack Palmer Smith
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Scientist, administrator.
Born at Winnipeg on 23 September 1939, only child of Cormack Smith (1892-1966) and Grace Mary Palmer (1907-1985), he received BSc Honours and MSc degrees in Chemistry from the University of Manitoba and a PhD in Theoretical Chemistry from Cambridge University.
After postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and Bell Labs, he began a 47-year career with the National Research Council in Ottawa. He rose to become Director General of the Institute for Biological Sciences and, in 1992, moved back to Winnipeg as Director General of the Institute for Biodiagnostics. He played roles focusing on cancer diagnosis and treatment with the Manitoba Technology Accelerator, Novadaq, and CIMTEC. Before retirement in 2017, he served as President of Innovative Biodiagnostics and CEO for the Centre of Imaging Technology Commercialization.
In recognition of his contributions to Canadian science and business, he was inducted into the Order of Canada (2008) and Order of the Buffalo Hunt (2013), he received the Flavelle Medal of the Royal Society of Canada and Outstanding Achievement Award from the Public Service of Canada, honorary degrees from the University of Stockholm, University of Winnipeg (1990), and Brandon University (2001), and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2022).
He died on 9 May 2024.
Birth registration [Grace Mary Palmer], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Cormack Smith, Grace Mary Palmer], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Grace Mary Smith], Winnipeg Free Press, 22 August 1985, page 48.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 2024.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Rod Smith for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 21 May 2024
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