Peter Milliken, Ronald Chwang and Phillip A. Sharp
recognized at convocation ceremonies

McGill University conferred degrees yesterday evening upon some
800 students from its School of Continuing Studies and awarded
an honorary degree to Peter Milliken, the
longest-serving speaker of the House in Canadian history. In
today’s ceremonies, McGill conferred degrees upon nearly 1,000
students graduating in Health Sciences and Engineering and bestowed
honorary doctorates upon Ronald Chwang and
Phillip A. Sharp, in recognition of their
outstanding contributions to their fields.

Peter Milliken, Doctor of Laws, honoris
causa

On Jan. 29, 2001, Peter Milliken was elected the 34th speaker of
the House of Commons. He served through both Liberal and
Conservative governments for over 10 years, making him the
longest-serving speaker in Canadian history. As speaker, he cast
many important tie-breaking votes and issued landmark
decisions.

Ronald Chwang, Doctor of Science, honoris
causa

A successful venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Dr. Ronald
Chwang graduated from McGill with a degree in Electrical
Engineering. Today, he is chairman and president of iD Ventures
America, where he manages venture capital investments in technology
start-ups. His successes include many products that we are
familiar with today, such as “Roomba”, the robotic floor cleaner by
iRobot; “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band”, the popular music games
developed by Harmonix Music; and ArtX, which designed the
semiconductor chips for the highly successful Nintendo Game Cube
console. 

Phillip A. Sharp, Doctor of Science,
honoris causa

Dr. Philip Sharp shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine. His impact in the field of molecular biology helped
advance the understanding of the genetic causes of cancer and other
diseases. His research interests have centered on the molecular
biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of
RNA splicing.  His landmark achievement was the discovery of
RNA splicing in 1977. Dr. Sharp is Institute Professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

McGill’s Convocation ceremonies can be followed live at:
http://bcooltv.mcgill.ca/ConvocationLive/

For more information about Convocation: http://www.mcgill.ca/students/graduation/

More news from McGill University: http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/