As former TRIUMF director, esteemed professor, national leader, and accomplished nuclear theorist, Erich Vogt has lead a long and memorable career. On May 4, friends and colleagues such as Nobel laureates Walter Kohn, Richard E. Taylor, and Carlo Rubbia gathered at UBC to celebrate Vogt’s many legacies. The symposium was attended by more than 100 people and spanned the gamut from quantum-field theory and greek letters to music and dancing.
Earning his degree at the University of Manitoba, Vogt received his PhD from Princeton in 1955 and began a 40-year long teaching career at UBC. To commemorate Vogt’s passion for physics students, the First Year Student Research Experience Award aims to provides first-year physics students with stipends for research positions before they are eligible for federal grants. Since March 2008, the Award has raised more than $20,000.
During his tenure, Erich Vogt understood that scientific research is strengthened by knowledge sharing and by working across borders. He pursued the building of the KAON project (Kaons, Antiprotons, Other hadrons and Neutrinos) during the late 1980s. Vogt’s legacy to TRIUMF, and to Canada, in this project is clear: he brought international recognition to TRIUMF and spurred interest that has led to over 55 partnerships with other international laboratory. Under Vogt’s guidance, TRIUMF grew immensely. From a small local laboratory focused on low-energy nuclear physcis, TRIUMF now uses the world's largest cyclotron to study the physics of rare isotopes, maintains a nationally unique proton cancer therapy program, collaborates with the world-famous Parkinson’s program on campus, has pioneered the use of muons and positrons in materials science research, and plans to celebrate 30 years of medical isotope production with MDS Nordion this autumn. And if that weren't enough, TRIUMF’s present involvement with the ATLAS project at CERN's LHC accelerator continues to showcase the laboratory's strengths. From TRIUMF’s opening in the late 1960s, the laboratory has grown to an internationally recognized research centre.
Thank you, Dr. Vogt, for your many years of leadership and service at TRIUMF. Your pursuit of a deeper understanding of science and dedication to this laboratory has provided a strong foundation for TRIUMF’s incredible development.
For the full conference program, please visit the symposium's website. Electronics copies of the presentations, as available, are stored here.
By Nicole Dublanko
TRIUMF's Communications Assistant