in his honour. In the late 1990s, after his retirement, Downey led a project for Canadian school children that tested the effects of space travel on canola seeds. The seeds had spent 17 days in orbit aboard the Columbia space shuttle, then were subsequently planted in classrooms across the country. A highly significant increase in germination rate was observed when compared to canola seeds that were left on earth. Researchers are still working to understand the results. Honours 1963 Bond Gold Medal, American Oil Chemists’ Society 1968 Public Service Merit Award, Government of Canada 1971 Honorary Life Membership Canadian Seed Growers’ Association 1973 Grindley Medal, Agriculture Institute of Canada 1975 Honorary Life Membership Saskatchewan Rapeseed Growers’ Association 1975 Royal Bank Award, Royal Bank 1976 Officer, Order of Canada 1976 Fellow, Agriculture Institute of Canada 1977 Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal 1979 Fellow Royal Society of Canada 1982 Century Saskatoon Award, City of Saskatoon 1986 Distinguished Graduate Award, University of Saskatchewan, College of Agriculture 1990 Gold Medal, co-recipient, Professional Institute of Canada 1992 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal 1994 Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Saskatchewan 1994 Clark-Newman Award, Canadian Seed Growers Association 1995 J. Mcansh Award, Canola Council of Canada 1995 Eminent Scientist Award / Groupe Consultatif International de Recherche sur le Colza 1995 Médaille Chevreul / Association Francaise pour l’Etude des Corps Gras, France 1996 Hall of Fame, Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame 1997 Honorary Doctorate of Law University of Lethbridge 1997 Recognition Award, Canadian Seed Trade Association 2000 Honorary Life Membership Saskatchewan Agriculture Graduates Association 2002 Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame 2002 Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2016 Saskatchewan Order of Merit 2017 Canola Influencer Award, SaskCanola References Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 1927 births Living people Canadian biologists Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit Officers of the Order of Canada People from Saskatoon Canadian agronomists