#1. YOUNG, James Christopher Frederick

Born: 1 Apr 1940, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Father: Merrill Harvey Forbes YOUNG #2 (2 Jun 1914 - 10 Jan 1979)
Mother: Irene Mary CORKUM #3 (21 Oct 1913 - 23 Aug 1996)

Chris grew up in Sackville, NB, graduating from Sackville High School in 1956, and Mount Allison University (B.Sc. Chemistry 1960). His formal education continued at McMaster University in Hamilton, ONT (M.Sc. Chemistry 1962), Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, USA (Ph.D. Chemistry 1971), New York State College of Forestry and Environmental Science in Syracuse, NY, USA (Post Doc. Insect Chemistry 1972) , and the Mass Spectrometry Research Unit at the University of Wales, Swansea, UK (Post Doc.1992).

Professionally,

he taught high school science and math in Kitchener, ONT (1962-4), and

lectured in chemistry at Sir Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo (1964-6).

Since 1972, Chris has been a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, ONT, working as an analytical chemist (the people who answer the burning question: "What's in this stuff and how much is there?"). Research started out on honey bee communication by chemical signals and for the past two decades has centered on the causes, consequences and cures for mould (fungal) contamination of wheat and corn. In April 1998, he was transferred to the Food Research Program in Guelph, Ontario (just west of Toronto) where he is working on "nutraceuticals" - substances in foods that impart a specific health benefit (beyond vitamins and minerals): (see, your mom WAS right when she said "Eat your vegetables - they're good for you"!) He does this by weighing molecules with a mass spectrometer. To date his research has included studies on apples, apple cider, beer, blueberries, cheese, chrysanthemums, coffee, corn, cranberries, flax, grapes, lettuce, marigold, milk, plums, soybeans, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, wheat, and wine, to name a few. He can also find out if you smell OK by using an electronic nose (i.e how well your nose works).