Robert Hall Haynes, OC, FRSC (27 August 1931 – 22 December 1998) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

and

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

. He was the Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Biology at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. Haynes was best known for his contributions to the study of

DNA repair DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. A weakened capacity for DNA repair is a risk factor for the development of cancer. DNA is cons ...

and

mutagenesis Mutagenesis () is a process by which the genetic information of an organism is changed by the production of a mutation. It may occur spontaneously in nature, or as a result of exposure to mutagens. It can also be achieved experimentally using lab ...

, and for helping promote the concept of

terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to mak ...

through his invention of the term, ecopoiesis. Haynes was one of the earliest geneticists to recognize the fundamental biological importance of the vulnerability of DNA to damage and therefore the central role of

processes. As he noted, “

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

is composed of rather ordinary molecular subunits, which certainly are not endowed with any peculiar kind of quantum mechanical stability. Its very chemical vulgarity makes it prey to all the chemical horrors and misfortune that might befall any such molecule in a warm aqueous medium.” Haynes early life and scientific contributions have been summarized by Kunz et al. (1993) and Kunz and Hanawalt (1999).Kunz BA1, Hanawalt PC. In memoriam: robert hall haynes. Environ Mol Mutagen. 1999;33(4):257-265. DOI:10.1002/(sici)1098-2280(1999)33:4<257::aid-em1>3.0.co;2-0

Incomplete timeline

* 1953, Haynes receives a degree in Mathematics and Physics, at the ''University of Western Ontario''. * 1957, Ph.D. in Biophysics, UWO * 1984, Haynes creates the word ''ecopoiesis'', a term that came to be widely used by writers and some proponents of ''terraforming'' and space exploration. * 1987, The Genetics Society of Canada creates the ''Robert H. Haynes Young Scientist Award''. * 1988, Haynes serves as President of the 16th International Congress of Genetics. * 1990, He is made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. * 1995 Haynes becomes the 104th President of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

Selected publications

Presidential Address

Planetary engineering

* * * in *Haynes, Robert H. (1990) Etablierung von Leben auf dem Mars durch gerichtete Panspermie: Technische und ethische Probleme der Okopoese," ''Biol. Zent.'' bl. 109. 193-205. * *Haynes, Robert. (1993)
How Mars Might Become a Home for Humans.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind''.

References

External links

104th President
Environmental Mutagen Society

Robert H. Haynes Young Scientist Award {{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Robert 1931 births 1998 deaths Canadian biophysicists Canadian geneticists Canadian physicists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada University of Western Ontario alumni Academic staff of York University 20th-century Canadian biologists