CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS

ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES PHYSICIENS ET PHYSICIENNES

Ottawa, April 24^th, 1998 - The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and the National Optics Institute (INO) are pleased to announce that the 1998 CAP-INO Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Photonics will be awarded to Dr. Kenneth O. Hill, Principal Scientist at the Communications Research Centre (CRC) in Ottawa, for his outstanding contributions to applied photonics, many of which have been exploited commercially.

Dr. Hill's research accomplishments include the discovery of photosensitivity in optical fibers, the development of techniques for writing Bragg gratings in fibers and optical waveguides, and the conception and demonstration of fiber grating based devices that have application in optical communications and optical sensor systems.

Particularly noteworthy contributions are the discovery of photosensitivity in fibers, the phase mask technique for grating fabrication, fiber grating dispersion compensators, and wavelength selective fiber filters, multiplexers and demultiplexers. Fiber gratings have a broad range of applications in optical communications and optical sensors systems. More than 20 companies worldwide are involved in the exploiting applications made possible by the discovery of photosensitivity and the photoimprinting of fiber gratings.

Dr. Hill graduated from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, with a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics in 1968. He also received his M.Eng. (1965) and B.Eng. (1963) from McMaster University. He joined the Defense Research Telecommunications Establishment (DRTE) in 1968. In 1968, DRTE was converted into the Communications Research Centre (CRC), the research branch of the newly formed Department of Communications. During his career at CRC, Dr. Hill has served as a research scientist (1968 to 1970), group leader, Optical Data Storage and Signal Processing (1970 to 1975), Manager, Optical Communications (1975 to 1985), and Director, Optical Communications (1985 to 1992). In 1992, CRC became part of Industry Canada, at which time Dr. Hill assumed his current position as Principal Scientist.

Dr. Hill has received numerous honours and distinctions. In 1991, he was elected to Fellowship in the Optical Society of America (OSA). In 1995, Dr. Hill received the 1995 Manning Principal Award and $100,000 for the discovery of photosensitivity in optical fibers and his pioneering work in optical fiber communications. In 1996, Dr. Hill received the 1996 Tyndall Award from the IEEE Lasers & Electro-Optics Society and the Optical Society of America.

This is the inaugural year for the CAP-INO Medal of Achievement in Photonics, and the first medal will be presented to Dr. Hill during the CAP's awards banquet to be held at the University of Waterloo on June 16^th, 1998.

The Canadian Association of Physicists, founded in 1945, is a professional association representing over 1600 individual physicists and physics students in Canada, the U.S. and overseas, as well as a number of Corporate and Departmental Members. In addition to its learned activities, the CAP also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics.

The INO is a private, non profit R&D corporation founded in 1985 and employing, at its facilities in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, over 150 people, including some eighty researchers specialized in photonics. It's mandate is to provide R&D support to the industry in order to foster the economic expansion of the country.

For more information, please contact:

Mrs. F. M. Ford, Executive Director
Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: (613) 562-5614
Fax: (613) 562-5615
E-mail: cap@physics.uottawa.ca

or

Mr. Jacques Poirier, Director of
Communications and Marketing
National Optics Institute (INO)
Tel: (418) 657-7006
Fax: (418) 657-7088