Bios of Participants

Murray Thomson, O.C. - Murray Thomson's work for peace in Canada extends over many decades; he is a member of the Order of Canada. He was a Pilot Officer, RCAF, 1944-45. He had leadership responsibilities as Executive Director of CUSO, 1973-76; President, Canadian Council for International Cooperation, 1976-79; Member of the Canadian Delegations to the UN Special Sessions on Disarmament, 1978 and 1982. He was a member of the Canadian Delegation to the 1979 Session of the United Nations, and wrote first draft of the UN World Disarmament Campaign, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982.. He is a Co-Founder of Project Ploughshares, 1976; Co-Founder, The Group of 78, 1981; and Co-Founder and Executive Secretary, Peacefund Canada 1985-2002.

Dr. Adele Buckley - Chair, Canadian Pugwash Group, physicist, aerospace engineer and environmental scientist. Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, M.Sc. and B.Sc.Hons. Physics, and 2006 received an Honorary Doctorate, D.Sc. from the University of Toronto. Her field of science is innovative technology, from concept to full commercialization. Her Ph.D. thesis on a new mass spectrometer for real time detection of traces of chemical compounds was the foundation technology for the new company, Sciex Ltd. She has made major contributions to - MDS Sciex, in which she was a founding partner; Solarchem Environmental Systems and Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement, where she was Vice President, Technology & Research. Her environmental work ranges from greenhouse gas emission reduction to vehicle technology, to arsenic removal for village wells in Bangladesh.

Major General Leonard Johnson (ret.) - He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Armed Forces from 1950 to 1984 - Staff Officer, Squadron Commander, Base Commander Trenton, Ottawa & Edmonton 1962-74; Commander Training Command Winnipeg and Canadian Forces Training System Trenton 1974-78. He was the Department of National Defence Associate Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy) and Chief of Evaluation (1978-80) and Commandant of the National Defence College in Kingston (1980-84). He is the author of "A General for Peace", 1987. General Johnson is a former chair of the Canadian Pugwash Group and past member of the international Pugwash Council.

Dr. Elisabeth Barot - COMMISSION CANADIENNE POUR L`UNESCO; CANADIAN COMMISSION FOR UNESCO;Chargée de programmes / Programme Officer. Elisabeth Barot is a political scientist by training; her doctoral dissertation was on democratization of Spain. Participative democracy, citizen engagement, the responsibility of Civil Society in the implementation of international agreements, are part of her fields of action and research. In her position at UNESCO, she deals with issues of human rights, social and human sciences, and status of women.

Dr. Peter Meincke - He was appointed President Emeritus of University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) in 2001 and awarded an Hon D.Sc. from the Royal Military College (RMC) in 2006. Peter Meincke graduated from RMC with the sword of honour; obtained a BSc in Engineering Physics from Queens and a PhD in Physics from the University of Toronto, and attended the National Defence College in 1985-86. Peter Meincke served in the RCAF, taught at RMC, spent two years at Bell Telephone Labs, served as Vice Provost of the U of T and President of UPEI. He has also served on the boards of a number of national and international organizations including the Ministers Advisory Board on the Canadian Military Colleges, Chair of the National Library Advisory board, and the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He is a founding member of The Group of 78, and is a past member of the Canadian Pugwash Board of Directors.