Back in 1970, it looked quite different, with just eighteen people whose group photo now feels like a time capsule from a different era. In many ways, today we stand on the shoulders of these early members—educators, researchers, and visionaries—who helped shape what Biology at uOttawa would become. Who were these faces? And how do their stories still echo in our halls?
This group photo shows members of the department at the time, gathered in front of the Cercle Universitaire. It was shared by the late professor Jim Fenwick. Names were provided by the department, though placements may not be exact.
Left to right: John Armstrong, Don Kushner, Fabius LeBlanc, Marcel Perault, [in front of Marcel Perault: Claude Godin], [unidentified], Gordon Kaplan, Quentin LaHam, Vadim Vladykov, Sami Quadri, Jean Vaillancourt, Jim Fenwick, Connie Nozollilo, Mike Dickman.
Missing: Bob Reed (field work), Edward Dodson (on sabbatical) and David Brown (just hired).
Though these early members may not be immediately recognizable, their impact is still felt in the world today. Take Professor Donn Kushner, for instance. He spent more than two decades teaching biology at uOttawa. Alongside that work, he wrote children’s stories—imaginative, thoughtful books that earned critical acclaim. He published several award-winning titles, but perhaps the most recognizable is his 1981 novel The Violin-Maker’s Gift, which won the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award and was later translated into several languages. The same creativity that shaped his stories found its way into his science. He received the Ottawa Biological and Biochemical Society Award (1986) and the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Award (1992), and somewhere in the world of microbiology, two species of bacteria, Haloanaerobium kushnerii and Salinivibrio kushnerii, carry his name. A gifted teacher, scientist, and storyteller, Kushner had the curiosity of a true renaissance mind and the wit to match. More than two decades after his passing, his presence still lingers in his stories and in the students he inspired.
While Professor Kushner’s legacy is well documented and far-reaching, others are harder to trace, at least in today’s digital record. One of just two women pictured in the department photo from 1970, Professor Pearl Weinberger was a force in her own right: sharp, unflinching, and unafraid to ask the hardest questions. Her research in plant biology explored bold, sometimes controversial questions like how plants respond to sound and vibration, and she made important contributions to understanding the environmental impact of widely used herbicides like fenitrothion. Despite her presence in the department and the strength of her voice, little remains online today beyond her publications. Her legacy, however, continues through the Pearl Weinberger Memorial Scholarship, awarded each year to graduate students in environmental biology and toxicology. It is a fitting tribute, not just to her own work, but to the generations of biologists who followed in her path… perhaps even because of it.
Some legacies live on, not through awards, but through the work itself. Professor Vadim Vladykov, who taught in the department from 1958 to 1973, played a foundational role in Canadian fish biology, especially in the study of eels and other migratory species. He spent part of his career chasing one of biology’s oldest mysteries: the birthplace of the American eel. For generations, no one knew where eels came from or how they reproduced, and to this day, their spawning has never been directly observed. The answer he helped confirm? That they are born in the depths of the Sargasso Sea and make an epic journey to the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers to live out their lives. But perhaps his greatest fascination was with lampreys: strange, ancient creatures he studied in detail for decades. Over a career that spanned more than 60 years, he published over 200 scientific papers and helped shape how aquatic life is understood across Canada and the world. For his contributions, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, one of the highest recognition a scientist can receive. He passed away in 1986, but his impact continues to ripple in the rivers and research he helped shape.
Other legacies are shaped with intention, left behind to support those still to come. Professor Constance Nozzolillo, known to many as “Connie,” was one of the few women working in the department at the time, and one of the few, whose story we can still hear in her own words. Inspired by her immigrant roots and the financial barriers her father overcame, Connie established the Constance Nozzolillo Scholarship in 1997 to help deserving students fund their education. Recognized with uOttawa’s Award for Commitment to the University in 2017, an honour reserved for alumni who have demonstrated long-term, dedicated support of the university, she continues to support the fund annually. When asked why she does it, she simply said, “My scholarship helps bright young minds today.” Her contributions to biology and to student life are part of the foundation the department stands on today, a legacy shaped by gratitude and the belief that access shapes futures.
Many other legacies live on in that 1970 photo, names and stories we did not highlight here, but whose presence shaped the department all the same. Professor Edward Dodson, who helped transform how genetics was taught across North America; professor John Armstrong, who built the foundation for our fourth year undergraduate thesis program and is still honoured through an annual award; and every person in that photo played a role in the life of the institution: as researchers, mentors, teachers, and colleagues. While we have only shared a few, the traces of their work remain in the research they began, the students they guided, and the culture they helped create. Memory is never complete, but it can be honoured. And this photo invites us to remember not just where we came from, but whose hands helped build the path we now traverse.
It has been 55 years since that first department photo was taken. In that time, Biology at uOttawa has grown, welcoming more voices, expanding its reach, and shifting with the world around it. Today, it is difficult to capture the full department in a single image (we are so big now!), but the most recent group photo, taken around 2015, still offers a point of comparison. Some things have changed. Subtly. Strikingly. Other things remain: the drive to understand the natural world, and the belief that answers are worth pursuing.
Taken approximately 55 years after the 1970 photo, this is the most recent available group photo of the department. It includes professors, lab instructors, and support staff. A nearly complete identification list was provided by the department.
Left to right: (Back) Vance Trudeau, Andrew Ochalski, Marie-Andrée Akimenko, Katie Gilmour, Jean-Marc Weber, Jon Houseman, Linda Bonen, Nathalie Bourassa, Guy Drouin, Michael Jonz, Doreen Smith, Scott Findlay, Antoine Morin, Charles Darveau, Risa Sargeant, Rees Kassen, Frances Pick, Doug Johnson, Pat Walsh David Currie, Colin Montpetit, Jeremy Kerr, Steve Perry, François Chapleau, (Front) Xuhua Xia, Christine Charrest, Anne-Gaëlle Rolland-Lagan, Stéphane Aris-Brosou, John Lewis, Alex Poulain, Gabriel Blouini-Demers, Howard Rundle, Jules Blais.
It is hard not to notice how much the department has changed since 1970, not just because of the shifting social landscape, but because science itself keeps changing too. The way we do research has evolved; it is more collaborative now, more interdisciplinary. And the questions we ask are different, shaped by new tools, urgent challenges, and a growing understanding of who science is for and who it must include. Today, what was once a small, mostly male group has grown into a broader, more inclusive department. Our faculty includes more women and a wider range of voices than ever before. It is not just professors anymore: lab instructors and technical and administrative staff are in the photo too—reminders that research and teaching are collaborative efforts, and that the department runs on more than just academic labour. The progress is visible. Not just in the work we do, but in the people who do it. And side by side, the images speak for themselves as a kind of living record of change.
But progress is more than just where we are now; it is also about what we carry forward. A department may grow more inclusive and more open, but the stories we tell about that growth often reflect only what was preserved. Some contributions were recorded in full; others, barely at all. Professor Weinberger is a telling example of this. Her legacy lives on through a memorial scholarship, though much of her story remains undocumented. She is proof that we do not always remember fairly. But looking back is not about holding on to the past. It is about choice: what we choose to carry, and who we choose to honour, to move through the present with more understanding, and toward a future that is more intentional and even a little more just.
The department is still evolving, and the photos keep changing with each passing decade. We continue to ask new questions, of the world around us, and of ourselves. And we are learning to listen more carefully too: to voices that were once left out, and to histories that deserve space in the story. That story is still being written. Maybe it is time for another department photo, to capture who we are now, and who we are still becoming. And with each new chapter, there is a chance to shape our story with more care, more clarity, and more room for everyone who walks the halls of uOttawa.
Special thanks to Frances Pick for sharing the 1970 department photo, inspiring this retrospective, and offering thoughtful feedback that helped bring it to life. Thanks also to Carole Yauk for her guidance, and to Annie Laprise in the Department of Biology office for tracking down the 2015 photo. I am deeply grateful for your support.