Yaffe, Leo

Leo Yaffe was born in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. He earned a B.Sc. in chemistry from the University of Manitoba in 1940, an M.Sc. in 1941 and a doctorate in radiochemistry from McGill in 1943. From 1943 until 1952, he worked for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. as a project leader in nuclear chemistry and tracer research. Yaffe returned to McGill as a Lecturer in 1954, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1954, and was named Macdonald Professor of Chemistry in 1958. From 1963 to 1968 he directed research at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. He served as Chairman of the Chemistry Department form 1965 to 1972, and as Vice-Principal (Administration) from 1974 to 1981.