Mr. Speaker, world renowned scientist Michael Smith died of leukemia on October 4, 2000 at the age of 68.
From England he came to the University of British Columbia in 1966 as a graduate researcher. His professional life was associated with UBC from that time onward.
In 1993 he was awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry for his research on DNA. A modest man, he gave away all of his Nobel prize moneys to scientific research and to the development of future scientific leaders.
His influence is apparent in several of the revolutionary ideas present in the last several federal budgets: the millennium scholarship fund, the 2000 chairs of research excellence and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.