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Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, widely known as 'Professor Popsicle,' is being named to the Order of Manitoba for his groundbreaking work in cold-weather survival and hypothermia research.
The Order of Manitoba was established in 1999 to honour Manitobans who have demonstrated excellence and achievement, which has in turn enriched the social, cultural or economic well-being of the province and its residents.
The professor emeritus who retired at the University of Manitoba says he received the phone call about a month ago.
"It was very, very nice, very honouring and actually very humbling because there's a lot of a lot of very deserving people in the province of Manitoba."
Giesbrecht, who spent decades immersing himself in icy waters to better understand how the human body responds to extreme cold, says it was an honour to accept the award not only as a scientist but as someone who has been able to keep people safe in some of the harshest conditions.
"Over the last decade or so, we've heard many indications of either personal people telling me or actual recordings of people whose lives have been saved," said Giesbrecht. "My ultimate goal when I started my career was if we can do stuff to save lives, that would be fantastic. So I'm very happy that's happened, and very gratified that that work is being recognized."
And although he doesn't like the cold, the research and the outcome are what keep him coming back.
"I hate the cold, but you know, I say my goal personally is to avoid cold or at least be comfortable in the cold by wearing the right equipment," said Giesbrecht. "And I try to help people either make sure that they don't get a cold injury or give advice to emergency response personnel like the military, law enforcement, search and rescue about what to do if they find somebody who's cold, injured and try to mitigate those issues."
Giesbrecht has now moved on to ministry, becoming a licensed minister. He is currently the missions outreach coordinator at Soul Sanctuary Church.
The formal ceremony for the Order of Manitoba is scheduled to be held on Thursday, July 17, 2025, at the Manitoba Legislative Building.