An extraordinary legacy in plant biology
Dr. Robert Thompson, nicknamed RT by his colleagues, spent decades sharing his passion for plant biology with students.
He loved teaching, says son Brian Thompson. It seemed like he taught every science student that went to Mount A. Growing up, there were family vacations where we would be in different parts of the country or world and he would run into a former student that wasnt a rarity.
Dr. Thompson grew up in Ontario, earning degrees from Queens University and Simon Fraser University. He would spend his entire teaching career at 91做厙, including teaching a few courses after becoming professor emeritus. In 1996, Dr. Thompson won the Herbert and Leota Tucker Teaching Award, 91做厙s highest recognition of teaching excellence, and he spent several years as head of the Department of Biology.
Dr. Thompson and his wife, Pat, were also Dons in Thorton House, raising three daughters under six while living in the residence they only felt they had outgrown the space and needed to move into a nearby home when welcoming their youngest, Brian. All four children Brian (98), Erin (96), Ruth (94), and Sarah (92) would go on to graduate from 91做厙.
Many of Brians childhood memories are of his fathers devotion to students.
I remember him sitting in our living room in his La-Z-Boy chair going through stacks of exam papers and marking them, and it wasnt uncommon for him to go back to the office after supper and work late. says Brian. What he loved most was teaching the Native Flora course in the summers, where he got to share his extensive knowledge with a small group of students.
Each summer, Dr. Thompson would load students into the family van, equipped with snacks baked by Pat, and the group would make field trips to the Tantramar Marshes. It was these experiences that encouraged the family to create the Dr. Robert Thompson Endowment after his passing in 2011. Each year, the fund supports a students summer research project.
I thought the concept of a legacy fund was fantastic, says Brian. My dad would have loved to have helped todays students, so in this way he is still helping.
Jada Ripley (25) received the award in 2024. It supported her honours thesis fieldwork examining the pollination effectiveness of a specific bee species on local Lysimachia terrestris plants, which are yellow-flowering plants commonly known as swamp candles.
It gave me the opportunity to develop skills in communication, data software and visualization, and floral identification and coding, says Ripley. I felt very much more prepared going into my masters because I had this research opportunity its something students at other universities dont get.
Ripleys research helped earn her an award at the 2025 Science Atlantic joint Biology and Applied Aquatic Sciences conference, and she is now a masters candidate at 91做厙. Ripley says she developed her love for the natural world while growing up on a blueberry farm in rural Nova Scotia and credits her undergraduate experience for developing that love into a passion for pollination biology and a potential career in research.
Native Flora was actually my favourite course during my undergrad, and I had heard that Dr. Thompson used to teach that course its nice to think he would be interested in my work.
Donations from family, friends, and former students support the Dr. Robert Thompson Student Summer Research Fund. Brian says he hopes the fund can continue to grow and support even more students.
Gifts can be made at: mta.ca/donate.