U of O mourns loss
Chemistry professor passes away after having suspected H1N1 symptoms
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA chemistry professor Keith Fagnou was laid to rest in Ottawa on Nov. 15. Fagnou passed away on Nov. 11, three days after being admitted to the Ottawa Hospital with suspected H1N1 symptoms.
Scientific communities in Canada and across the world are reacting to the sudden loss of their colleague.
“His [peers] in science have lost a true colleague, one who would help wherever and whenever there was a need,” said Thomas Moon, biology professor at the U of O.
Fagnou, 38, began working at the U of O in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2007. Fagnou received several prominent awards during his time at the university, including the John C. Polanyi Prize in 2003 and the international Organometallic Chemistry Directed Towards Organic Synthesis award earlier this year. He also served as the U of O Research Chair in novel catalytic transformations and oversaw a research group of 20 graduate students. His research interests included catalysis, carbon-hydrogen bond activation, and organic synthesis.
“His work was an inspiration to me as it was to many others,” said Philip Hultin, chemistry professor at the University of Manitoba. “Canada has lost one of the most brilliant young scientists it has ever produced.”
Fagnou died suddenly at the Ottawa Hospital intensive care unit where he was admitted after showing symptoms of the H1N1 strain of flu, marking the eighth H1N1-related death in Ottawa since September. Health authorities believe that he had no underlying health conditions. Fagnou is survived by his wife Danielle Gervais-Fagnou, a doctor at the U of O health services clinic, and three children whose ages range from 22 months to seven years.
“Keith was an excellent teacher, mentor, and researcher,” said Moon. “Science in Ottawa, nationally and internationally, has lost a true innovator whose potential had only just begun to be realized.”
The University of Ottawa is accepting donations to the Dr. Keith Fagnou Scholarship in Science Fund. Donations can be made by telephone or online at www.annualfund.uottawa.ca.
