R. Paul Young, FREng, FRSC, (born April 4, 1952) is a

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

who works in rock mechanics using

induced seismicity Induced seismicity is typically minor earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity that alters the stresses and strains on Earth's crust. Most induced seismicity is of a low magnitude. A few sites regularly have larger quakes, such a ...

to monitor

fractures Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

and rock damage for engineering applications in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and

radioactive waste management The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the Department o ...

Career

He is

and W.M. Keck Chair

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He is currently the Honorary International Secretary of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, 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, bil ...

and

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the

Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) is Canada's largest publisher of international scientific journals. It started in 1929 as the ''NRC Research Press'', part of the National Research Council (NRC). In 2010, the organization spun off from NRC and wa ...

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. He was previously the

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

, Research and Innovation at the

(2007-2014),

of the

TRIUMF TRIUMF is Canada's national particle accelerator centre. It is considered Canada's premier physics laboratory, and consistently regarded as one of the world's leading subatomic physics research centers. Owned and operated by a consortium of uni ...

Board of Management, Canada's National Particle Accelerator Centre (2010-2014), and

of the research committee of the

U15 group of Canadian Research Universities The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities (french: U15 – Regroupement des universités de recherche du Canada, commonly shortened to U15) is an association of 15 Canadian public research universities. It is headquartered in Ottawa and was ...

(2012-2014). He was previously president of the

British Geophysical Association The British Geophysical Association (BGA) is a joint association of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Geological Society of London, which advances the interests of geophysics and geophysicists Geophysics () is a subject of natural scienc ...

(2000-2002) and

at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

(1999-2002), Keele University (1993-1999), and

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

(1984-1993).

Research

He is known for his research into rock bursts and

seismicity Seismicity is a measure encompassing earthquake occurrences, mechanisms, and magnitude at a given geographical location. As such, it summarizes a region's seismic activity. The term was coined by Beno Gutenberg and Charles Francis Richter in 19 ...

in Canadian mines, and

and

acoustic emission Acoustic emission (AE) is the phenomenon of radiation of acoustic (elastic) waves in solids that occurs when a material undergoes irreversible changes in its internal structure, for example as a result of crack formation or plastic deformation due t ...

experiments for monitoring excavation induced damage at Atomic Energy of Canada's

Underground Research Laboratory The Underground Research Laboratory was a test site for deep geological repository of nuclear waste operated by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's (AECL's) Whiteshell Laboratories near Lac du Bonnet in Manitoba, Canada. The site was built inside a l ...

, and rock mechanical testing and

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

to study and simulate rock fracturing.

Honours and awards

In 2007, he was made a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

and in 2009 was awarded the

Willet G. Miller Medal The Miller Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada given for ''outstanding research in any branch of the earth sciences''. The award consists of a gold-plated silver medal and is awarded every two years if there is a suitable candidate. ...

of the

. In 2011 he was made a

Senior Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Massey College and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and in 2018 he was made a

of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

References

External links

University of Toronto website
*
Royal Society of Canada's R. Paul Young BiographyCanadian Who's Who Professor R. Paul Young biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, R. Paul Living people Scientists from Preston, Lancashire 1952 births British geophysicists Alumni of Newcastle University Alumni of the University of London Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian geophysicists