Article

Leo Yaffe

Updated by Jessica Poulin

Published Online June 10, 2008

Last Edited July 25, 2022

Leo Yaffe, OC, FRSC, educator, nuclear scientist, university administrator (born 6 July 1916 in Devil's Lake, North Dakota; died 26 May 1997 in Montreal, QC). Yaffe was an authority in nuclear chemistry and throughout his career he advocated for the peaceful use of atomic energy (see Nuclear Energy). He has been the recipient of many honours and awards.

Education

Leo Yaffe moved from the United States to Winnipeg in 1920. He earned his Bachelor of Science (1940) and Master of Science (1941) from the University of Manitoba. He completed his PhD at McGill University in 1943.

Early Career

After earning his PhD, Leo Yaffe was recruited to work on an atomic energy project. Yaffe worked in research facilities located at the Universite de Montreal and later in Chalk River, Ontario. (See also Nuclear Research Establishments.) At the Chalk River facility, Yaffe acted as project leader in the Nuclear Chemistry and Tracer Division (by 1952 the facility was part of the newly incorporated Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.).

Career Highlights

In 1952 Yaffe returned to Montreal and McGill University where he became a lecturer in chemistry. That same year, he established a productive nuclear chemistry research laboratory at the university. During his career, he  contributed richly to measurements of beta radiation, neutron- and proton-induced reactions, nuclear isomer ratios, and analysis of archaeological artifacts, all described in over 150 publications.

Yaffe was director of Research and Laboratories (1963-65) of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna; chairman, Department of Chemistry (1965-72) and vice-principal, administration (1974-81) of McGill University; and president (1981-82) of the Chemical Institute of Canada. In 1984 he was made professor emeritus at McGill University.

Honours and Awards