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Dr. Nigel Shrive, DPhil, a professor emeritus in civil and biomedical engineering at the , is being honoured with the 2026 in Engineering.

The prize recognizes ’s many career accomplishments spanning orthopaedic and cardiovascular research, as well as masonry.

“Recognition that one has done something useful with one’s life is nice, but I think even more it gives you the confidence and enthusiasm to keep doing it, do more,� says Shrive. Despite his emeritus status, he still has many projects on the go, with ideas for many others he’d like to begin.

Early career

When Shrive first began his academic pursuit at Oxford University in England, he was unsure whether he wanted to be in engineering or medicine. A tutor he had told him about biomedical engineering. Shrive realized in this field he could combine both his passions and went forward with it, eventually earning an undergraduate and a doctorate in the field. 

While in grad school, Shrive discovered the importance of the meniscus in the knee, a piece of cartilage between the shinbone and the thighbone. At that time, the meniscus was treated as tissue left over from some evolutionary process and was now unnecessary, and was removed when damaged. The surgical removal caused issues (frequently the development of osteoarthritis in that joint) for many who had the procedure. Shrive proved that the meniscus is one of most important parts of the knee when it comes to load bearing. Now, because of that discovery, surgeons attempt to repair it instead of removing it.

Following a presentation on the meniscus, his engineering supervisor asked Shrive if, with his knowledge, he might be able to invent an artificial knee.

“When I got home, I was churning it in my head. How would you, knowing what I knew about how the knee worked, how would I devise an artificial knee?� says Shrive.

After a night of thinking, Shrive brought an idea to his supervisor.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Get in the car.’ We went to the hospital immediately and he demanded to see my orthopaedic surgeon supervisor. My supervisor was hauled out of clinic. Thank goodness he wasn’t in the operating room,â€� says Shrive.

His supervisor agreed it was a good idea to move forward.

“So, we made one and stuck it in a cadaver and it worked like a dream and just went on from there.�

That was the birth of the Oxford Knee Replacement, which is now the most widely used partial knee replacement worldwide.

Masonry work

Shrive also works in the civil engineering field studying mainly in masonry, testing load-bearing structures. Shrive says there is a connection between what he does in the engineering field and in the bio field. 

“Everything is structures and structural mechanics,� says Shrive.

Shrive says masonry is actually simpler to understand than working with ligaments, as the human body heals and keeps changing, while masonry does not, making it more predictable.

“In some ways, you use masonry as a sort of a go back to (after working with ligaments) and get something to actually work,� he jokes.

A well-deserved honour

Schulich Dean Anders Nygren calls Shrive a remarkable engineer with internationally recognized expertise across disciplines. “We are so proud to have him at the Schulich School of Engineering. We could not be more thrilled to see him recognized with the Killam Prize,� he says.

Shrive is also an adjunct professor in the at the (CSM) and a member of the .

“I have had a productive collaboration with Nigel for over 35 years. During this time, I was impressed with his innate curiosity, his clarity in defining medically related problems, and his willingness to work with researchers from diverse backgrounds," says colleague , PhD, a professor with CSM and the , and also a member of the McCaig Institute. "Amid all this medically focused activity, he still maintained his very productive engineering interest in masonry — truly a renaissance man.â€� 

What’s next

Shrive says receiving the Killam Prize only confirms to him that he should keep going with his work. 

“It'll make me more excited to finish a couple of projects that I've got started. Really gives you the drive to do it, makes you want to finish,� says Shrive.

Shrive also is motivated by the graduate students he supervises in both engineering and health sciences. He says his two biggest drivers are his students and discovery.

“When you discover something that hasn't been explained or hasn't been understood before, that makes you feel good. But the other thing is the enthusiasm of the graduate students. They are so bright — that just keeps you alive,â€� says Shrive.