Henry Shimizu
Henry J. Shimizu 1952 BSc, 1954 MD, was interned with his family at a camp in New Denver, British Columbia during World War II. He received full Canadian citizenship in 1949 and studied medicine at the University of Alberta, becoming one of the first Japanese Canadians to practise medicine in Canada. He served with distinction as a professor, researcher, and administrator at the University of Alberta for more than 30 years.Shimizu played a significant role in the development of the University of Alberta Hospital, where he co-founded Western Canada's first burn-treatment centre and assisted in the establishment of a residency program in plastic surgery. A former president of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgery, in 1978, he was a member of the surgical team that performed the first successful functioning limb replantation in North America.
A Member of the Order of Canada, Shimizu has made notable contributions outside of medicine. He served as chair of the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation and was instrumental in creating the Nikkei International Memorial Centre, located in New Denver, BC, where his family was interned. In 2002, his series of 25 oil paintings, recalling life in New Denver, was exhibited at Edmonton's Japanese Cultural Centre.
Shimizu is a 2004 recipient of the University of Alberta Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award.