Head and shoulders image of Dr. Wei Xiao, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Wei Xiao earned his BSc from Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, China (1982) and his MSc from the University of Toronto (1984). Dr. Xiao completed his PhD at the University of Saskatchewan (1988). He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology at Harvard University from 1990-1992. In July 1992 he joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the U of S as professor. Dr. Xiao was awarded the University of Saskatchewan Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award in 2008.

Image of Dr. Catherine Lesley Biggs, professor, Women and Gender Studies, sits at home with her two cats.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. C. Lesley Biggs co-taught with Susan Gingell the first women’s and gender course at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Biggs is an associate professor in the Department of History (2023). Her main areas of interest lie in the history and sociology of the professions with a particular focus on complementary and alternative healers, and the sociology of the body. Dr. Biggs was a recipient of the Master Teacher Award in 2009.

A calm, sunny afternoon graced the official opening last Friday of the Nobel Plaza, the gift to the University, on its 90th anniversary, from the Meewasin Valley Authority and the Meewasin Foundation. Honored guests included: Terri Lemke, chair, MVA board of directors; Gwen Charman, director of corporate services, MVA; Peggy McKercher, University Chancellor; Mrs. Marie (Albert) Taube, sister-in-law of Dr. Henry Taube, whom, with Dr. Gerhard Herzberg, the Plaza honors; and Dr. Agnes Herzberg, who represented her father at the ceremony.

Bio/Historical Note: Image appeared in 31 Oct. 1997 issue of OCN.

Bio/Historical Note: The Nobel Plaza honouring the two Nobel laureates with University of Saskatchewan connections was officially opened on 24 October 1997. The $200,000 Plaza was sponsored by the Meewasin Authority and Meewasin Foundation and presented as a gift to recognize the university’s 90th birthday. Two bronze plaques honour Henry Taube (BSc. 1935, MSc. 1937), who was a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry in 1983 when affiliated with Stanford University, and Gerhard Herzberg, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1971. He had an illustrious career with the National Research Council, Ottawa. The Plaza is attached to the main exit from the building and the Bowl and consists of a pedestrian concourse with a stone clad speaker’s podium faced with the two bronze plaques.

View of the Nobel Plaza at the entrance of the College Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The Nobel Plaza honouring the two Nobel laureates with University of Saskatchewan connections was officially opened on 24 October 1997. The $200,000 Plaza was sponsored by the Meewasin Authority and Meewasin Foundation and presented as a gift to recognize the university’s 90th birthday. Two bronze plaques honour Henry Taube (BSc. 1935, MSc. 1937), who was a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry in 1983 when affiliated with Stanford University, and Gerhard Herzberg, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1971. He had an illustrious career with the National Research Council, Ottawa. The Plaza is attached to the main exit from the building and the Bowl and consists of a pedestrian concourse with a stone clad speaker’s podium faced with the two bronze plaques.

Head and shoulders image of Farouk Saleh, Management and Marketing.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Rajendra K. Sharma, professor of Pathology.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Rajendra Kumar Sharma was born on 2 January 1942 in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, India. He spent his childhood in Hathras where he studied primary education at Mohan Gunj Primary Municipality School and higher secondary education at Saraswati Inter College. Dr. Sharma completed his BSc in Chemistry, Botany and Zoology in 1963 and an MSc in Biochemistry in 1965, both from Aligarh Muslim University. Dr. Sharma served as a chemistry lecturer at Saraswati Inter College due to the shortage of chemistry teachers in 1965. He was awarded a research fellowship from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to pursue a PhD degree in Biochemistry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, where he worked in the area of protein chemistry and enzymology. After completing his PhD, Dr. Sharma worked as a lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital, New Delhi. Dr. Sharma pursued his postdoctoral research in the field of cancer biology in 1972 in the Department of Biochemistry & Pharmacology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts. In 1975 he joined the College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, as a research associate in the Department of Biochemistry. In 1976 Dr. Sharma joined the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, to pursue his further research career. Later Dr. Sharma moved to the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Calgary, Alberta. He made several discoveries in the areas of signal transduction. In 1991 Dr. Sharma was appointed as associate professor at the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. He was awarded an earned Doctor of Science degree in Pathology by the U of S in 2004. In 2012 Dr. Sharma was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor at the U of S and he continues to serve at the same position (2021).

Ken Smith and Richard Schick of the Registrar's Office examine a computer print-out.

The production team of "A University of the People." Front (l to r): Danielle Fortosky, head, DAVS; Bob Lindsay, Native Studies, scriptwriter; Michael Hayden, History, executive producer. Back: Colleen Fitzgerald, St. Peter's College, Muenster, narrator; Dwayne Brenna, Drama, voice-over narration; Michael Milo, post-production editor.

Bio/historical note: Image appeared in 8 Jan. 1999 issue of OCN.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Dvoralai Wulfsohn, Department of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Dvoralai Wulfsohn earned her BSc (Hons) at Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England; and MS and PhD degrees from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Wulfsohn was assistant and associate professor of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan from 1991-1999. Dr. Wulfsohn was director of Geco Enterprises Centro de I+D, El Tambo, Chile, from 2011-March 2021.

Head and shoulders image of Gordon I. McCalla, Professor, Computer Science.

L. Brown and Gwenna Moss of Extension sit at a table.

Head and shoulders portrait of Dr. Ahmed El-Serafi, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Ahmed El-Serafi was born in 1929 in Cairo, Egypt. He received a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Cairo University in 1950, a PhD from the Manchester College of Science and Technology in England in 1955, and a Dr-Ing from the Technical University at Darmstadt, Germany in 1964. In 1968 Dr. El-Serafi joined the University of Saskatchewan where he became professor of electrical engineering and a member of the power systems research group. After his retirement in 1996 he was appointed as professor emeritus and continued his professional activities. Dr. El-Serafi significantly contributed to various international professional institutions such as ICEM, IEEE, CIGRE and VDE. He received many international awards such as an IEEE Fellowship award for his significant contribution to synchronous machines, and an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship. Dr. El-Serafi published more than 300 refereed conference and journal papers. He was one of the founders of the Saskatoon Islamic Association and served as its president for several terms. Dr. El-Serafi died in Saskatoon in 2018.

Elevated view of C. Greuel holding a tray of food.