草莓污视频导航

Nov. 17, 2022

Dr. Bernie Law awarded posthumous PhD in geoscience

Family celebrates a life dedicated to learning
Dr. Bernie Law, PhD with his dog Savannah.
Dr. Bernard Law, PhD and his dog Savannah. Tina Law

It鈥檚 never too late to start something.

That鈥檚 assuredly true about graduate studies, as the life of the late Dr. Bernard Ki-Yun Law, PhD, illustrates with remarkable grace.

Law passed away at the age of 63 on Sept. 3, 2021, following a struggle with cancer. He was in the homestretch of his PhD in geoscience with only his oral thesis defence outstanding. Everything was ready; the exam was scheduled, and Law had put final touches on a 57-slide presentation of his research. Illness prevented him from attending the exam, but on the day before he passed, surrounded by loved ones, Law learned that his PhD would be awarded.

It was immensely meaningful news for Law and his family. 鈥淒ad wanted to see his dissertation go into the library, so that it would be a resource for others,鈥 says Law鈥檚 daughter Li-Ming. 鈥淗e was always trying to find ways to fill in gaps in the field, addressing some of the common struggles that people had interpreting geophysical data.鈥

A lifelong passion for learning

Law started graduate studies after retiring from a successful career in Alberta鈥檚 oil and gas sector. Originally from Hong Kong, Law moved to Canada following his older sister who opened a restaurant in Revelstoke, B.C. Still in his teens, Law finished high school in Revelstoke before entering the University of Saskatchewan to complete a Bachelor of Engineering (1982) in geophysics and seismology.

After graduation, Law started a geoservice company in Calgary with a few university acquaintances and developed proprietary algorithms for interpreting seismic data. Law also married and started a family, with four daughters and a son.

Two of Law鈥檚 daughters 鈥 Tina and Li-Ming 鈥 reminisce about his dedication to family and how those values were shaped by Law鈥檚 own parents and grandparents. 鈥淗is grandfather worked in restaurants in California and sent money back to family in Hong Kong,鈥 as Li-Ming recalls. 鈥淗e lived in a one-bedroom house and would make clothes to sell.鈥 Law鈥檚 daughters agree that the selflessness of his forebears had a major influence on his own outlook and approach to family.

鈥淗e wanted all of his family to live well, and not struggle to have a roof over their heads,鈥 muses Tina as she remarks on the stoicism and grace in the face of adversity that had always underscored Law鈥檚 approach to life. 鈥淓ven in his sick bed, if the doctors asked him what pain he was experiencing on a scale of one to ten, he would always claim it was a zero.鈥

It might not occur to all of us to go back and pursue a graduate degree after retiring, but Law was marked by a passion for learning. It didn鈥檛 surprise his family at all, and it fit a pattern of restless curiosity made apparent in his many hobbies which ranged from astrophotography to collecting vinyl records and restoring hi-fi equipment.

Law鈥檚 PhD

According to Law鈥檚 supervisor, Dr. Daniel Trad, PhD, Law鈥檚 research focused on geophysical tomography, which is an applied method for 鈥渆stimating wave propagation velocities in the subsurface by using seismic data obtained on the surface.鈥 To simplify, as seismic waves are sent into the earth, they reflect or refract at different wavelengths, and measuring these wavelengths can help researchers arrive at 2D or 3D models of what lies below the surface.

鈥淏ernie's research was working on state-of-the-art methods that are not well understood outside a reduced circle of experts,鈥 says Trad. 鈥淚n particular, he was trying to merge information from the near-surface and the deeper structure. This type of research requires a combination of many approaches, each of which may not be new, but their combination makes a difference. The benefits are the quality improvement obtained from the geophysical data. For example, that may make the difference in defining where oil or gas is, or where CO2 removed from the atmosphere is going when injected into the subsurface.鈥

The apple doesn鈥檛 fall far from the tree, as it turns out. While studying geophysics, Li-Ming was in the strange position of having their father as a teaching assistant for a course. Eventually Li-Ming chose another path, but one that uses many of the same principles.

鈥淚鈥檓 an ultrasound technologist,鈥 Li-Ming explains. 鈥淲hen I was going back to school for sonography, dad suggested I look into medical imaging 鈥 and that鈥檚 exactly the type of diagnostic imaging that I work with now!鈥

Age is just a number

鈥淏ernie Law might seem like an outlier, but in many ways, he really isn鈥檛,鈥 as Dr. Robin Yates, PhD, dean and vice-provost of graduate studies explains. 鈥淕rad studies really is for everyone; it鈥檚 not the ivory tower that popular culture sometimes makes it out to be. If you have a passion for learning and for growing and applying your expertise, graduate school is the place for you. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you are fresh out of an undergraduate degree, or fresh into retirement. Learning is a lifelong vocation, and grad studies is a key part of that for people from all backgrounds.鈥

Trad, Li-Ming and Tina all agree on this point. 鈥淒id Bernie鈥檚 age matter?鈥 asks Trad. 鈥淣ot at all, he had the curiosity of a young man with the experience of a long-life researcher. It is difficult to say where his energy came from in his last days, but I can picture he had an internal volcano of passion for science.鈥

Entrepreneurial 草莓污视频导航 grads make an impact in health care, culture, law, business, the environment, and more. Read more stories about Class of 2022 students.


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