CAP Medal Press Release - 2022 Stoicheff

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2022 Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Graduate Scholarship is awarded to Kate Fenwick, University of Ottawa / NRC, in recognition of high academic standing, success in research publications, and leadership and commitment to STEM gender diversity. announcement

Kate is a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and National Research Council of Canada. Her research is focused on developing an approach for ultrafast all-optical switching, and exploiting it for different applications. Switches are an integral component of modern-day networks that allow for the manipulation of information. The ability to quickly switch, gate, or re-route optical signals is crucial for communication, imaging, microscopy, spectroscopy, and quantum information. Many electro-optic approaches currently exist to switch optical signals; however, their speeds and loss are no longer sufficient for many applications.

Kate has used her switch to carve pulses out from a continuous wave diode laser, effectively turning it into a pulsed laser source. This application holds potential for ultrafast spectroscopic techniques. She has demonstrated the switch can be used for gated measurement of frequency-to-time mapped signals, where the switch provides a means of high-resolution spectral sampling which is useful in optical communication. Most recently, she is using the switch for quantum simulation and computing applications.

Not only is Kate dedicated to her research, she is also committed to serving her community. Alongside Dr. Chitra Rangan, she co-chairs the CAP’s International Day of Light outreach efforts, where she leads a team of student volunteers across Canada to engage the public in the importance of light in our everyday lives. Kate also co-founded the Canadian Photonics Online Meetup (canPOM) and has co-chaired this free online conference since its inauguration in 2020. Through canPOM, she aims to improve accessibility and sustainability of optics conferences and build a stronger Canadian photonics community. She is also the current president of the University of Ottawa Joint Optica-SPIE Student Chapter, which she leads in its regular journal club, scientific lecturers, outreach efforts, and professional development workshops. nominator citation

ABOUT the Scholarship

The CAP Foundation (CAPF) and the Optica Foundation (formerly OSA Foundation) partnered in 2011 to establish the Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Graduate Scholarship as a memorial to Boris P. Stoicheff, an eminent, internationally renowned laser spectroscopist who also served as President of the Canadian Association of Physicists (1983-84) and the Optical Society of America (1976).

The joint CAPF/Optica Foundation scholarship in the amount of $3,000 is awarded to a graduate student who has demonstrated both research excellence and significant service to the optics (Optica) or physics (CAP) community. The scholarship is awarded jointly by CAPF in even years and the Optica Foundation in odd years. The inaugural scholarship was awarded by the CAP in 2012. medal description

ABOUT the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP)

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, Institutional, and Departmental Members. In addition to its learned activities, the CAP, through its charitable arm - the CAP Foundation, also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics. cap description

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For more information, please contact:

Mrs. Francine Ford, Executive Director
Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: 343-361-3326
E-mail: execdir@cap.ca
www.cap.cacap contact and joint contact

The 2022 Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Graduate Scholarship

Kate Fenwick