Dr. Peter C. Burns will be honored by the Mineralogy Association of Canada at their annual meeting in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada this June with the association’s 2016 Peacock Medal. Awarded since 1982, the medal recognizes a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the mineral sciences in Canada.
Dr. Burns is best known for his research work in actinide materials, including uranium and thorium mineralogy and geochemistry, actinide environmental chemistry, actinide solid-state chemistry (especially of uranium and neptunium), and the nanoscale control of actinides. Starting in 2005, Burns developed a family of more than 100 nanoscale uranium oxygen cage clusters that self-assemble in water and is now developing applications for these clusters that will take advantage of their unique properties. His research has produced more than 360 published archival journal contributions as well as three books.
Dr. Burns is the Henry Massman Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. He is a concurrent Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and serves as the director of the Center for Sustainable Energy at Notre Dame and the director of the Materials Science of Actinides Energy Frontier Research Center, a center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy since 2009. Burns earned an undergraduate degree in geology from the University of New Brunswick (Canada), an MSc in geology from the University of Western Ontario (Canada), and a PhD in mineralogy from the University of Manitoba (Canada). Following postdoctoral appointments at University of Cambridge (UK) and the University of New Mexico (USA), Burns joined the faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1996 and has been a member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1997. He has been associated with the Mineralogy Association of Canada since 1986.
The Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC) was formed in 1955 as a non-profit scientific organization to promote and advance the knowledge of mineralogy and the allied disciplines of crystallography, petrology, geochemistry and mineral deposits. The Peacock Medal, formerly the Past-Presidents’ Medal, has been awarded annually since 1982 to a scientist who has made significant contributions to the mineral sciences in Canada and is recognized for the breadth and universality of their contributions. Previous recipients of the medal are:
| Donald Bruce Dingwell (2015) | Fred Wicks (2004) | Robert Boyle (1992) |
| Don R. Baker (2014) | Ed Ghent (2003) | Tony Naldrett (1991) |
| David R.M. Pattison (2013) | John L. Jambor (2002) | Lincoln Hollister (1990) |
| Dante L. Canil (2012) | Kurt Kyser (2001) | Rob Kerrich (1989) |
| Daniel J. Kontak (2011) | Greg Anderson (2000) | Steve Scott (1988) |
| Brian J. Fryer (2010) | Frank C. Hawthorne (1999) | Peter Roeder (1987) |
| Don Francis (2009) | Fred J. Longstaffe (1998) | Don Sangster (1986) |
| Kelly Russell (2008) | Mike E. Fleet (1997) | Denis Shaw (1985) |
| Sarah-Jane Barnes (2007) | Thomas E. Krogh (1996) | Petr Černý (1984) |
| Joel D. Grice (2006) | Hugh Greenwood (1995) | Gabrielle Donnay (1983) |
| Anthony E. Williams-Jones (2005) | Roger Mitchell (1994) | Len Berry (1982) |
| Louis Cabri (1993) |
Originally published by Barbara Villarosa at energy.nd.edu on May 04, 2016.