David McCurdy Baird will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 “in recognition of outstanding contributions to science education in Canada through teaching, writing and creating museums.”
David McCurdy Baird studied at University of New Brunswick (UNB), the University of Rochester and McGill. He has taught geology at Mount Allison and UNB and headed the geography departments at Memorial University and at the University of Ottawa.
He created the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, and was director for 14 years. He then created the world-class Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta. He later became founding director of the Rideau Canal Museum in Smiths Falls and consultant to the new Johnson Geo Centre in St. John’s, Nfld.
His work includes many publications in the natural sciences and international museum press, public lectures, presentations to parliamentary committees and TV and radio productions. His books include volumes on the geology of several national parks and of the National Capital Region as well as Lighthouses of Atlantic Canada and Northern Lights.
He has been honored as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has received medals from the Royal Society, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Parks Canada, honorary doctorates from Memorial University, UNB and the University of Calgary. In 1986, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.