In memory of Kathryn McWilliams

Dr. Kathryn McWilliams (PhD), professor in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics and director of SuperDARN Canada, passed away at the start of 2025. The following message was sent to members of the College of Arts and Science community by Dean Brooke Milne on Jan. 15.

I am writing today with sadness about the loss of our colleague Prof. Kathryn McWilliams of the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, who passed away on Jan. 2 after a short battle with cancer.

Kathryn will be remembered as a brilliant scientist and engineer, a cherished friend, and a trailblazer in her field. She was the first tenured female faculty member in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, and the first Canadian to be awarded an honorary fellowship from the United Kingdom’s Royal Astronomical Society.

As principal investigator of SuperDARN Canada and later as chair of the international SuperDARN project, Kathryn earned the respect and admiration of members of the space physics community around the world. Her research advanced humanity’s knowledge of space weather and provided new tools for understanding. Under her visionary leadership, SuperDARN Canada grew into a true national scientific research network that should bring pride to all Canadians.

Kathryn completed her BSc and MSc in physics here at the University of Saskatchewan before attending the University of Leicester for her PhD on a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship. As a second-year undergraduate student at USask, she was hired to help construct the Saskatoon SuperDARN radar site. You can still see her handprint on one of the concrete tower bases east of the city.

Perhaps above all, Kathryn should be remembered for her dedication as a teacher and mentor. She supervised dozens of USask students and was passionate about developing new curricula and programming in her department. Her influence on students went far beyond our campus through her leadership in the Canada-Norway Student Sounding Rocket (CaNoRock) exchange program and the NSERC CREATE International Space Mission (ISM) Training Program.

One of my first tasks as dean was to visit an ISM field school near Cudworth, where I had the privilege of watching a team of students from Norway and across Canada launch a stratospheric balloon under Kathryn’s guidance. Her pride in the students’ achievements and their admiration for their mentor were impossible to miss.

I met Kathryn only a few times, but I’ve heard from members of her department about the impact she made on those who knew her well. Kathryn was energetic, funny, and relentlessly upbeat. She put others ahead of herself—especially students. To those she taught, she was not only their educator but their team captain and their greatest cheerleader. Her absence will be deeply felt.

Kathryn’s family will hold a celebration of her life at Saskatoon Funeral Home on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 pm. The service will also be livestreamed.

The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to programs that promote the advancement of women in science, technology, engineering, and math. Kathryn’s colleagues in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics have established a scholarship fund in her memory. If you wish to donate to the Kathryn McWilliams Memorial Fund, you can do so online.

The department and the SuperDARN team will also host a seminar titled “Remembering Professor Kathryn McWilliams” on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 3:30 pm in Physics 103. Please feel free to attend if you would like to hear more about Kathryn’s life and work.

Sincerely,

Brooke Milne, PhD
Dean, College of Arts and Science
Professor, Department of Anthropology
University of Saskatchewan