Peter Calamai

Peter Calamai (June 23, 1943 – January 22, 2019) was an American-born Canadian science journalist.

Early life and education Calamai was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania, the son of engineer Enrico Calamai and Jean Kennedy, and older brother to Michael and Paul. He moved to Brantford, Ontario as a child. He earned a Bachelor of Science in physics from McMaster University in 1965. which won several national awards under his leadership.

Career As a journalist, Calamai started as a local reporter at the Brantford Expositor, then The Hamilton Spectator. and wrote a series debunking the claims of climate change deniers. Fellow of the Canadian Association of Physicists, and Fellow of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa. He also served as a member of advisory boards to Environment Canada, NSERC, and the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network.

Personal life Calamai was an avid fan of Sherlock Holmes and was heavily involved with The Bootmakers of Toronto and The Baker Street Irregulars,

He won a Michener Award in 1987 for public interest journalism for his work overseeing a massive investigation series on adult literacy in Canada. The next year, then prime minister Brian Mulroney officially launched the National Literacy Secretariat, and one year after that, Statistics Canada launched the first of its national literacy surveys.

In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. and received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the university in 2015.