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James Stanley Colton "Jasper" McKee
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Physicist, educator, author.
Born at Belfast, Northern Ireland on 6 June 1930, he obtained a BSc degree in Physics (1952) and a PhD in Theoretical Physics (1956) from Queen's University, Belfast. He spent 17 years as an Assistant Lecturer in Physics at Birmingham University in England before coming to the University of Manitoba in 1974 where he was a Professor of Physics. He served as Director of the University's Cyclotron Laboratory and Accelerator Centre. He also served on the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology of Canada and the Board of Directors of Atomic Energy of Canada. He was Editor of the professional journal Physics in Canada. He retired in 1996 and was appointed Professor Emeritus.
A weekly science correspondent on CBC Radio, he also published several fiction and nonfiction books. His nonfiction included Random Recollections of a Peripatetic Physicist (1998), Physics in the Real World (1999), The View from Below Cashel Hill (2000), and 60 Years A-Growing: A History of the Canadian Association of Physicists – 1945-2005 (2005). His fiction included The Heroic Failures of Anderton Snipe (2004) and Tails and Tales: True Stories and Shaggy-Dog Fiction (2004). His excellent work in communicating science to the public was recognized by an Outreach Award from the University of Manitoba (1986), the McNeil Medal from the Royal Society of Canada (1995), and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).
He was a Liberal candidate in the 1988 and 1990 provincial general elections. He served as President of the Canadian Club of Winnipeg (2007).
He died at Belfast, Northern Ireland on 6 January 2024 and was buried with his wife Christine McKee at Dorchester, England. A collection of his papers is held at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.
His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:
1912 Remembered: In Pursuit of an Idea
Manitoba History, Number 69, Summer 2012
Biography of Jasper McKee, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.
Obituary, University of Manitoba Retirees Association.
We thank Maurice Michaud for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 6 June 2025
