Kenneth G. Standing *55

Kenneth Standing, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Manitoba (U of M), died March 21, 2019, at age 93.

After serving in World War II, he graduated in 1948 from U of M. He earned a master’s degree in physics from Princeton in 1950, and joined the faculty of U of M in 1953 before earning a Princeton Ph.D. in nuclear physics in 1955. At the U of M, he designed, built, and commissioned the cyclotron particle accelerator, serving as its director from 1959 to 1974.

In the late 1970s, he completely changed the focus of his research to time-of-flight mass spectrometry and its applications to study biological macromolecules (particularly proteins and peptides). He collaborated with biologists on biological problems, such as during the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003. He was a member or chair of various U.S. National Institutes of Health special study sections.

He retired as a professor in 1995, but continued his research. He received high honors and awards from Canada’s most prestigious science societies, including being elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, as well as the American Physical Society. He also received the prestigious Encana Principal Award, which recognizes innovation.

Standing is survived by four children and five grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.