CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS

ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES PHYSICIENS ET PHYSICIENNES

Ottawa, April 25th, 2001 - The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2001 CAP Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics will be awarded to Dr. H. Roy Krouse, Professor at the University of Calgary for his outstanding contributions to many different applied research areas, ranging from fossil fuel recovery and geological exploration to food industry to instrument development.

Dr. H. Roy Krouse has devoted over four decades to the pursuit of innovations in stable isotope mass spectrometry and the application of this powerful analytical technique to a broad spectrum of investigations in basic and applied research. Roy Krouse was a graduate student of Henry Thode at McMaster University at a pivotal time in isotope ratio mass spectrometry in Canada. At an early stage in his career, Roy Krouse realized that the analysis of isotope abundance variations reveals detailed information about complex chemical, biological, and physical processes. Further, he recognized that knowledge of isotope abundance variations and fractionations is an important component in research in diverse fields. His skill and imagination led him to develop innovative mass spectrometric techniques to extract isotope abundance data from a range of samples including tree rings; ice cores; mineral, oil and natural gases; kangaroo, mummy, and mammoth hair; apple juice; and Martian meteorites.

Collaboration is a key element in many of his investigations and Roy Krouse was one of Canada's pioneers in tackling multidisciplinary research topics. Roy Krouse's accomplishments are largely the consequence of his enthusiastic promotion of stable isotope research to colleagues in different disciplines in university, government, and industrial laboratories around the world. Undoubtedly, the wide use of isotope abundance instrumentation and techniques for oil and gas exploration, food adulteration studies, the determination of energy expenditure in humans, and for forensic and environmental investigations is due, in part, to his groundbreaking work.

Under his direction, the Isotope Science Laboratory at the University of Calgary has developed into a world-class facility specializing in isotopic techniques. As testament to the positive and dynamic work environment that Roy Krouse has always fostered, the two technicians that began work with him in Calgary in the early 1970s are still an integral part of the laboratory today. His mentoring has had a significant and far-reaching influence on many students and research associates nationally and internationally. Roy Krouse is a deserving recipient of the 2001 CAP medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics.

Roy Krouse received his BSc in Honours Physics and Chemistry in 1956 at McMaster University. He graduated with a PhD in 1960, under the supervision of Henry Thode, also at McMaster University. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1994. In 1999, he was the co-recipient of the Miroslaw Romanowski Medal of the Royal Society of Canada, with Dr. Jerome O. Nriagu. This was in recognition of their significant contributions to the resolution of scientific aspects of environmental problems.

Other awards and recognition include: Induction into the Alumni gallery, McMaster University, 1993; Finalist, Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Awards, 1991; Elected Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, 1990; Elected Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America, 1989; Province of Alberta Achievement Award, 1988; Shared Geochemical Society "Best Paper in Organic Geochemistry", 1973; and Elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics, London, 1972

The CAP Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics (formerly the Prize for Innovative Applied Physics of the CAP's Division of Industrial and Applied Physics) was established in 1991 and has been awarded biennially since. Dr. Krouse will receive the 2001 Medal during the CAP's awards banquet to be held at the University of Victoria on June 19th, 2001.

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.

For more information, please contact:

Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: (613) 562-5614
Fax: (613) 562-5615
E-mail: cap@physics.uottawa.ca