Today in Ottawa, the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and its partners awarded seven members of the Canadian physics community for their accomplishments. As you read through the list of the esteemed physicists below, don't be surprised if you recognize these world-class physicists and their various contributions to TRIUMF - and the physics community at large - over the years.
Recipients of the 2015 CAP medals:
The 2015 CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal for Contributions to Subatomic Physics is awarded to Prof. Pierre Savard, University of Toronto and TRIUMF, for his contributions to particle physics and in particular for his leadership of the Higgs -> WW analysis, which was an important ingredient in establishing that the discovered particle was, in fact, the Higgs boson. Introduced in 2011, the Vogt Medal recognizes and encourages outstanding experimental or theoretical contributions to subatomic physics. Congratulations, Pierre!
– Read TRIUMF's news release "Pierre Savard Awarded the 2015 CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal for Contributions to Subatomic Physics"
The 2015 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics will be awarded to Charles Gale, McGill University, for his distinguished original research contributions to three areas of theoretical nuclear physics: the determination of the equation of state from medium energy heavy ion collisions, the use of photons, lepton pairs and jets as probes of the hot and dense matter formed in high energy heavy ion collisions, and the implementation of a state-of-the-art computer code for 3+1 dimensional second-order viscous relativistic fluid dynamics for heavy ion collisions. From his role in the Physics Department, Charles Gale was instrumental in bringing McGill University into the TRIUMF consortium as associate member university and installing a joint position between TRIUMF and McGill University. Congratulations, Charles!
The 2015 CAP-COMP Peter Kirkby Memorial Medal for Outstanding Service to Canadian Physics will be awarded to Gordon Drake, University of Windsor, for the key role he played in preparing the case to NSERC for increased funding for physics in the 1990's, for his untiring promotion of Canadian physics through his participation or leadership in numerous international and Canadian physics organizations and committees, and for his effective communication of physics to the non-scientific community. Gordon Drake’s research interest in atomic physics brought him to work with TRIUMF’s Jens Dilling and to publish first Penning-trap mass measurements of Li-11 along with the TITAN collaboration. Congratulations, Gordon!
The 2015 CAP/DCMMP Brockhouse Medal will be awarded to John Page, University of Manitoba, for significant and original contributions to the understanding of ultrasonic wave phenomena in complex media through the development and application of new experimental techniques to characterize the structure and dynamics of such materials, including the first demonstration of Anderson localization of classical waves by disorder in three dimensions. Congratulations, John!
The 2015 CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics will be awarded to Chitra Rangan, University of Windsor, for her unstoppable commitment to optimizing student interest in physics by employing a wide range of active instructional strategies to enhance student learning, and for being a steadfast advocate for active and research-based learning as well as effective communication skills in science. Congratulations, Chitra!
The 2015 CAP Herzberg Medal will be awarded to François Légaré, INRS-EMT, for ultrafast molecular imaging, development of high peak power infrared lasers for high harmonic generation and tissue imaging with nonlinear optical microscopy techniques. Congratulations, François!
The 2015 CAP Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics will be awarded to John F. Martin, University of Toronto, for his contributions to experimental particle physics and his leadership role in the international physics community. John Martin is a key player in the Tokai to Kamioka (T2K) experiment, building up both the national and international collaborations. Along with the University of Toronto, York University, and TRIUMF, Martin lead the construction of the innovative optical transition radiation beam monitor in front of the production target and took a leadership role in neutrino beam analysis. Martin was part of the Canadian team that received Japan’s prestigious 2014 Suwa Award for their achievement of the world’s highest-intensity neutrino beam, used in the T2K experiment. Congratulations, John!
– With content from the Canadian Association of Physicists; Photo of Pierre Savard from Radio-Canada;
Read TRIUMF's news release "Pierre Savard Awarded the 2015 CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal for Contributions to Subatomic Physics"