2020 Medal Winners | francais

PRESS RELEASE / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 2020 CAP Herzberg Medal

is awarded to

Ebrahim Karimi

"It is an absolute honour and privilege to be recognised by our colleagues in the Canadian physics community. This recognition is shared with all the members of SQO team, colleagues, and collaborators. This prestigious Medal and recognition will help us to continue to entice brilliant researchers who are the driving force behind our research endeavors." winner quote

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2020 CAP Herzberg Medal is awarded to Ebrahim Karimi, University of Ottawa, in recognition of for his innovative leadership in developing structured quantum waves for applications to quantum communication and computation, microscopy and materials science. announcement

Prof. Karimi from the University of Ottawa is a pioneering force in photonics and electron beam optics. He has made ground=breaking contributions to both areas, with results published in the most prestigious physics and other science journals. He developed novel devices that generate structured photonic and electronic waves that have been used in several important applications for quantum communications, microscopy, and materials science. Prof. Karimi's team successfully employed these devices in quantum communication protocols over the city of Ottawa and through the Ottawa river; in quantum sensing and metrology; as well as in engineering the quantum wave-function of electrons for material characterization in electron microscopy. Furthermore, his team showed that polarization of optical beams possessing tailored structures forms exotic 2 and 3-dimensional topologies, such as polarization M�bius, ribbon strips, knots and framed knots. His achievements also include generating electron vortex beams that found numerous applications in materials science.

Prof. Karimi's significant contributions to physics have earned him numerous prestigious awards and recognitions. Among those, the Canada Research Chair in Structured Light, the Ontario Early Researcher Award, the University of Ottawa Early Career Researcher of the Year Award in 2019, membership in the College of New Scholars at the Royal Society of Canada and the Global Young Academy, fellowship in the Optical Society, to name a few. His fundamental work attracted significant international attention, leading to invitations to give colloquia all over the world. He played a major leadership role in establishing a new research center, dedicated to quantum optics advancement in Canada. nominator citation

The CAP Herzberg medal recognizes outstanding achievement in any field of research by an early-career Canadian physicist (i.e. successfully defended their doctoral thesis within the 12 years prior to the award). The annual CAP Herzberg Medal was introduced in 1970. Prior to 2011, the medal was awarded for outstanding achievement by a Canadian physicist under the age of 40.

A series of virtual plenary medal talks will be organized over the course of the next several months to honour the 2020 medal recipients. The talk schedule will be posted on the CAP's website and notification of each talk will be issued once arranged. The medal will be forwarded to Prof. Karimi with the congratulations of the community. 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

joint description

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For more information, please contact:

Mrs. Francine Ford, Executive Director
Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: 613-562-5614
E-mail: execdir@cap.ca
www.cap.cacap contact and joint contact