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is awarded to
"I am delighted and humbled to have been awarded the CAP Herzberg Medal, and am honoured to be in the company of the previous winners of this award. It is a wonderful recognition for the talented research students and collaborators that I have the pleasure to work with." winner quote
The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2010 CAP Herzberg Medal is awarded to Carlos Silva, Université de Montréal, in recognition of for his internationally recognized seminal contributions to the understanding of optical and electronic processes in molecular and polymeric semiconductors, and for elucidating the complex relationships between microstructure and semiconductor properties in this important new class of materials. announcement
Carlos Silva, Associate Professor of Physics and Canada Research Chair in Organic Semiconductor Materials, enjoys international recognition as a leader in the development of the physics of this new class of electroactive materials by means of time-resolved optical probes, especially ultrafast spectroscopies. He focuses his current research efforts on exciton and polaron dynamics in polymeric semiconductors, and strong coupling of light and excitons in organic semiconductor optical microcavities. Several of his publications have become landmark papers that have triggered widespread experimental and theoretical research by groups throughout the research-active world. What characterizes his contributions is a unique combination of materials processing know-how to study the appropriate sample for the problem at hand, with state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical approaches that open the door for new understanding.
Professor Silva obtained a PhD in chemical physics from the University of Minnesota in 1998, after which he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. In 2001 he became Advanced Research Fellow of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council at the Cavendish Laboratory, as well as Research Fellow in Darwin College, Cambridge. Attracted by the professional opportunities provided by the Canada Research Chair and by the academic environment at the UdeM, he moved his research program in January 2005. In Montreal, he has set up a unique facility for ultrafast spectroscopy of advanced electroactive materials, which, in conjunction with his recognized expertise, attracts a large number of international collaborations. nominator citation