President of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Kenney-Wallace's father was a military strategist during World War II, and because of his job, the family moved many times. She became fascinated with science when Russia launched Sputnik in 1957. Geraldine went on to study and conduct research at Oxford and London. Later, she traveled to Canada, where she earned her doctorate at the University of British Columbia in 1970. In 1974, Dr. Kenney-Wallace organized Canada's first ultrafast laser lab, at the University of Toronto. By 1987, she had achieved timescales of 6x10 -14 seconds for research on molecular motion and optoelectronics. Dr. Kenney-Wallace has also taught at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, at Yale and Stanford Universities in the United States, and has done research in Japan. The traveling she began as a child seems to have continued! Dr. Kenney-Wallace's achievements have led to many honors. She was the chair of the Science Council of Canada and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. In addition, Dr. Kenney-Wallace has received twelve honorary degrees and, in 1990, she was appointed president of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Sources: "Claiming the Future" p. 42 from Canadian Women: Risktakers & Changemakers Women Inventors Project ((416)243-0668)
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