Gary Libben is fascinated with the way language has shaped civilizations, cultures, communities and collective knowledge throughout history.<\/p>\n
The drive to understand humans\u2019 ability to use words has taken the Professor of Applied Linguistics around the world and deep into the human psyche.<\/p>\n
He recently received one of 30 Royal Society of Canada (RSC) King Charles III Coronation Medal<\/a> for his contributions to the organization\u2019s goals of recognizing Canadian research excellence, mentoring new scholars and advising governments, non-governmental organizations and Canadians on matters of public interest.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to receive this medal,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m deeply committed to the Royal Society of Canada\u2019s mission to foster knowledge and insights and share those with the wider Canadian public.\u201d<\/p>\n He was first elected as a Fellow of the\u00a0Royal Society of Canada<\/a> in 2008 for making an exceptional impact in his field. He has since held several significant roles within the organization, including his current position as RSC Secretary<\/a>.<\/p>\n Libben is recognized as an global expert in how words are represented in the human mind and brain, how they are linked to one another, and how they are accessed in the processes of language comprehension and production.<\/p>\n In 2006, he co-founded The Mental Lexicon<\/a>, an international journal featuring neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic research on the representation and processing of words.<\/p>\n He also serves as Director of Words in the World<\/a>, an international network bringing together international experts to train and mentor the next generation of researchers in the areas of language and aging, language learning and the effects of brain damage on communication.<\/p>\n This project arose from a 2016 Partnership Grant of almost $2.5 million<\/a> from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which is funded by the Government of Canada.<\/p>\n