CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS

ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES PHYSICIENS ET PHYSICIENNES

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2006 CAP Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics is awarded to Dr. Ian Affleck, University of British Columbia for application of conformal field theory to quantum magnetism, spin chains, the Kondo effect and flux phases in superconductors.

Ian Affleck’s interests cover many areas including superconductivity, low dimensional magnetism, and quantum phenomena. He began working in high energy theory and often applies techniques from this field to condensed matter problems. Over a period of 25 years, he has many major research accomplishments, and his papers are cited widely and often.

With Dine and Seiberg, Ian developed a theory of non-perturbative supersymmetry breaking that later, with further development by Seiberg, has had significant impact in string theory. “Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki” models have been used to study magnetism, including low dimensional systems. He has applied conformal field theory to investigate quantum chain models. He introduced new types of mean field theories to study the high-Tc problem, and these ideas continue to be used by other theorists. He applied conformal field theory to the Kondo problem and other quantum impurity models, and this new approach has provided the first exact solution of the low energy properties of these systems. He has studied the phenomenology of low dimensional quantum antiferromagnets. He has also used ideas from quantum field theory, borrowed from high energy physics, to analyze a wide range of experimental data including results from neutron scattering, electron spin resonance, and magnetic susceptibility measurements.

His awards include (in chronological order) the Governor General's Medal, the NRC Steacie Prize, the CAP Herzberg Medal, the Rutherford Medal in Physics, a UBC Senior Killam Research Prize, the UBC Jacob Biely Prize, the CAP/CRM Prize for Mathematical/Theoretical Physics, the B.C. Science Council New Frontiers in Research Award, and the degree of Honorary Doctor of Law from Trent University. Other honours include Fellowships in the Sloan Foundation, the Royal Society of Canada, and the American Physical Society. He has been a member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research since his appointment at UBC where he is now a Killam University Professor.

The CAP Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics was introduced in 1956 and is awarded annually. Dr. Affleck will receive the 2006 Prize during the CAP's awards banquet to be held in St. Catharines on June 13th, 2005.

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