2012 Medal Winners | francais

The 2012 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics

is awarded to

Luc Vinet

"This award really means much to me and receiving it gives me great pleasure.
I wish to thank CAP and CRM and the many who have a share in this most appreciated kudo. Cheers for mathematical physics at the CRM and in Canada!" winner quote

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM) are pleased to announce that the 2012 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics is awarded to Luc Vinet, University of Montreal, in recognition of for his outstanding and continued contributions to mathematical physics, mainly based on the study of symmetries, algebraic structures, and special functions. announcement

Luc Vinet is one of Canada’s leading mathematical and theoretical physicists who has made outstanding contributions in numerous areas. The unifying feature of his research is the innovative use of group theoretical and algebraic methods, the emphasis on exact solutions of physical problems and the originality of his approach. He has made important contributions that have had great impact on both physics and mathematics. His early remarkable work was on gauge field theories in particular on exact invariant solutions of Yang –Mills equations in Minkowski space. Also early in his career he identified the symmetries and supersymmetries of magnetic monopole systems. He explored various algebraic structures appropriate to describe symmetries in different physical problems. These go well beyond standard Lie groups and algebras. They include polynomial, quantum, super- and parasuper- algebras. He is very well known for his influential work on quantum many body problems and for his application of this work to a proof of the long outstanding Macdonald conjecture on properties of multivariate orthogonal polynomials. His contributions to the symmetry theory of difference and q-difference equations are truly pioneering. Remarkably, Vinet’s scientific career was not interrupted by his heavy administrative duties as Director of the Centre de Recherches Mathematiques, then Provost of McGill University and finally Rector of the Universite de Montreal. He continued to publish highly innovative work during his administrative tenure and is now going through a new burst of creativity. Quite recently, in 2011, he has discovered new families of orthogonal polynomials, associated to reflections. These have already found many applications. In the context of quantum information theory, he has shown how spin chains can be used to design perfect quantum wires. nominator citation

The CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics is intended to recognize research excellence in the fields of theoretical and mathematical physics. This prize was first introduced in 1995 and has been awarded annually since.

Dr. Vinet will be presented with the 2012 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at the 2012 CAP Congress (hosted by the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, from June 11-15) at the end of his plenary talk and will be recognized during the Congress banquet to be held on Thursday, June 14th, 2012. 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