Juan Cesar (Tito) Scaiano, OC, FRSC (born 1945) first came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1975 as a visiting scientist with the National Research Council from

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Returning to the NRC in 1979, he developed an innovative new program studying organic reaction intermediates using

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

techniques. He then joined the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

in 1991 as a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. Current projects in the Scaiano Research Group include such diverse topics as fluorescent sensors,

photolithography Photolithography (also known as optical lithography) is a process used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. It involves using light to transfer a pattern onto a substrate, typically a silicon wafer. The process begins with a photosensiti ...

, persistent free radicals, and

nanoparticles A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is a particle of matter 1 to 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 100 nm in only two directions. At ...

. Since then he has won many national and international awards for his work in

photochemistry Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 Nanometre, nm), visible ligh ...

. He was the first to use two lasers to follow photochemical changes in short-lived intermediates during a reaction which allows scientists to measure photochemical reactions. He has won awards including the Premier's Platinum Medal for Research Excellence, which is one of the largest single research awards in the world, the Tory Medal, the

Rutherford Memorial Medal The Rutherford Memorial Medal is an award for research in the fields of physics and chemistry by the Royal Society of Canada. It was dedicated to the memory of Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (30 August ...

, the

Izaak-Walton-Killam Award The Killam Prize (previously the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize) was established according to the will of Dorothy J. Killam to honour the memory of her husband Izaak Walton Killam. Five Killam Prizes, each having a value of $100,000, were a ...

, and the 2002

Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering The Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering is awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to recognize "research contributions characterized by both excellence and influence." Prior ...

. In 2020, he received th
Nicholas J. Turro
award. In 2005 he was appointed 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 ...

. The citation reads: :''Juan Scaiano is one of Canada's most eminent chemists. His work has shaped the field of physical organic chemistry over the last 25 years and its impact has extended to the pharmaceutical, microelectronics, and pulp and paper industries. A renowned expert in the field of photochemistry, he pioneered the use of lasers to study and measure organic reactions. Distinguished professor at the University of Ottawa and holder of the

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Applied Photochemistry, he has been an inspiring teacher to students, nurturing their creative spirit and conveying to them a sense of community responsibility.''Governor General to invest 33 recipients into the Order of Canada - Citations for the recipients
He is a member of the Centre for Research in Photonics at the University of Ottawa. He also founded a company named Luzchem which builds and sells photochemistry equipment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scaiano, Tito 1945 births Living people Argentine chemists Canadian chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Academic staff of the University of Ottawa Place of birth missing (living people) Canada Research Chairs