CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS

ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES PHYSICIENS ET PHYSICIENNES

2000 CAP MEDAL OF ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICS

Ottawa, March 21^st, 2000 - The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that its premier medal, the 2000 CAP Medal of Achievement in Physics, will be awarded to Dr. Thomas Timusk, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University, for measurements of profound importance over many years of the optical constants of crystals of metals and superconductors over a broad range of temperature and frequency. This work has led to new insights into the Fermi-liquid theory of metals, and the mechanisms of high temperature superconductivity.

Tom Timusk is one of the world's leading experts on the optical properties of solids. His research has ranged from studies of alkali halides and superconducting lead in the 70's, through electron-hole droplets in semiconductors and properties of organic superconductors in the 80's, to heavy fermion metals, quasicrystals, and high Tc superconductors in the 90's. He has participated in fundamental studies of cosmic background radiation at millimeter wavelengths, as well as in applied research on radiative transfer in polyester fibers for sleeping bag insulation. His recent success in the area of high-temperature superconductors has made him a highly sought-after speaker at international conferences, and he is the author of a number of reviews on the infrared properties of these materials.

Tom received his B.Sc. at the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. at Cornell. He was a post-doc at the University of Frankfurt and at Illinois before joining McMaster in 1965. He has taken sabbaticals at Cornell, UC Berkeley, the University of Florida at Gainsville, at AT&T Bell Labs, and at Toronto. He has been an A.P. Sloan Foundation Fellow, and he is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Royal Society of Canada.

The CAP Medal for Achievement in Physics was introduced in 1956 and is awarded annually. The 2000 Medal will be presented to Dr. Timusk during the CAP's awards banquet to be held at York University on June 6th, 2000.

The Canadian Association of Physicists was founded in 1945 and represents over 1600 individual physicists and physics students as well as Corporate and Departmental Members. In addition to its learned-society activities, the CAP is active in the areas of professionalism, science policy and the promotion of scientific research and education.

For more information, please contact:
Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: (613) 562-5614
Fax: (613) 562-5615
E-mail: cap@physics.uottawa.ca