CAP Medal Press Release - 2015 Herzberg

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2015 CAP Herzberg Medal is awarded to François Légaré, INRS-EMT, in recognition of for ultrafast molecular imaging, development of high peak power infrared lasers for high harmonic generation and tissue imaging with nonlinear optical microscopy techniques. announcement

François Légaré is a chemical physicist, full professor at INRS-ÉMT and director of the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS) infrastructure. He is internationally recognized for outstanding contributions to the fields of ultrafast science and biophotonics, including pioneering studies on ultrafast molecular imaging, the development of state-of-the-art high peak power lasers, and tissue imaging with second harmonic generation microscopy.

Prof. Légaré’s work in molecular science has led to the development of the molecular clock for probing attosecond processes without attosecond pulses and for measuring the time scales associated with strong-field molecular ionization. Furthermore, he was the first to combine experimental observations with numerical simulations to highlight the underlying mechanism of charge-resonance-enhanced ionization in a triatomic molecule, and has recently shown that a table-top laser system allows the imaging of proton migration in the cation of small organic molecules. Over recent years, much of his effort has been devoted to the development of high power infrared lasers, making ALLS the world's only open-user facility offering few-cycle infrared pulses. Using this unique infrastructure, his research team with collaborators has shown how high photon energy can be generated in a tabletop setting, enabling one to probe for the first time multi-electron dynamics with high harmonic generation spectroscopy. In addition, he has been highly creative with the development of a new concept for the amplification of octave-spanning laser pulses: frequency domain optical parametric amplification. This approach is extremely promising for the development of high average/peak power few-cycle laser pulses: it has been patented by INRS and a Canadian spin-off has been started to commercialize the technology.

Prof. Légaré is also actively working on biomedical imaging using nonlinear optical imaging techniques and was among the first to realize how the complex piezoelectric architecture of collagen-rich tissues influences the images obtained in second harmonic generation microscopy. nominator citation

The CAP Herzberg medal is awarded for outstanding achievement in any field of research by a Canadian physicist who has successfully defended their doctoral thesis within the last 12 years at the time of the award, excluding an allowance of one year per child for parental leave. The CAP Herzberg Medal was first introduced in 1970 and is awarded annually. Prior to 2011, the medal was awarded for outstanding achievement by a Canadian physicist under the age of 40.

Prof. Légaré will be presented with his medal at the 2015 CAP Congress (hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, from June 15-19) at the end of his plenary talk and will be recognized during the Congress Recognition Reception at the Art Gallery on Thursday, June 18, 2015. Please refer to the Congress program for the schedule of plenary talks by CAP medal winners. medal description

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 also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics. cap description

joint description

- 30 -

For more information, please contact:

Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: 613-562-5614
Fax: 613-562-5615
E-mail: cap@uottawa.cacap contact and joint contact

The 2015 CAP Herzberg Medal

François Légaré