When first meeting Bruce Campbell, he would often say “Hi, I’m Bruce Campbell”, then pause for a few seconds, smile, and add “not THAT Bruce Campbell”. If you have seen the films, you know what he meant.
Bruce started his academic career at McGill University where he completed his PhD on “Current Induced Interactions in Quantum Chromodynamics”. He then moved on to the University of Toronto followed by Carleton University during a very productive postdoctoral fellow period where he generated publications that now boast hundreds of citations. Bruce became a professor at Alberta in 1984 and joined Carleton with his partner, Manuella, in 2004. In between, Bruce spent several periods at CERN, one of his favourite places to pursue science, as a Scientific Associate. During his career, Bruce received many honours including an NSERC Research Fellow award and, perhaps the one he cherished the most, the Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, awarded to just a single professor at Carleton each year.
Bruce was one of those rare people who combined incredible levels of genius and kindness in equal measure. When asked for advice or scientific help, he would clearly and patiently sit down and assist the person in need…even if a couple of hours were required. If you had young children, you would periodically find awesome children’s books in your mailbox for them. Bruce was one of the greatest teachers and mentors in physics. He inspired so many people to pursue physics, to pursue knowledge, with intelligence and determination.
OUR Bruce Campbell has moved on. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.
