Today@Dal

From Monday's Globe and Mail:

When W. Ford Doolittle put on an exhibition of his photographs in Halifax recently, he decided on a different approach from that of fellow shooters with works featuring scenes from all around the globe. Instead, every image he chose was taken within two blocks of the gallery.

His subjects – among them a post and a bit of garbage on the sidewalk – betray a fascination with details that others may miss.

They also speak to a willingness, even a desire, to say something different.

“I think I am basically a contrarian,” says Prof. Doolittle, who, when not behind a camera lens, is a world renowned evolutionary geneticist at Dalhousie University, and an outspoken critic within his own discipline. “I’m really not afraid of what other people think I’m thinking.”

It’s a trait that has proved useful when working at the frontiers of biology over the past four decades, even when it sometimes rubs colleagues the wrong way. And it has not stopped the 71-year-old researcher from winning the Herzberg gold medal. The nation’s top science prize will be be awarded Monday by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

“Many researchers are known for making a particular discovery,” said Patrick Keeling, who leads a program in microbial biodiversity for the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, which draws on Prof. Doolittle’s expert advice. “Ford’s actually well-known for ideas, which is really different and, to my mind, a lot more interesting and impressive.”

Read the rest of this article online.