CAP Medal and Award Winners
The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and its medal partners are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 CAP medals.
The 2024 medalists have been invited to give a plenary lecture as part of the 2024 CAP Conference program, and to receive their medals at the Medalists' Recognition Dinner in London, ON on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Please refer to the
Congress-at-a-glance for the schedule of plenary lectures by the CAP medal winners. If any of the medalists are unable to attend the conference, their medal will be presented at another mutually agreed upon time or sent to them separately after the conference.
Achievement
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Xiaoyi Bao , University of Ottawa ,
in recognition of broad and profound contributions to the optical fibre field; from laying the physical principles for new optical measurement techniques, to developing applications with important impact for Canadian infrastructure and telecommunications.
"Receiving this prestigious CAP Medal is great honour. I am fortunate to be able to follow my passion, exploring the interface of fundamental and applied physics to solve real-world problems benefitting society. This award reflects not just my personal journey but also collaborative efforts of exceptional colleagues, postdocs and students." view the press release
Achievement
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Robert Myers , Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics ,
in recognition of his ground-breaking research in quantum field theory and quantum gravity, and his central role in the founding of the Perimeter Institute.
"I’ve been lucky in my career to be able to follow my passion exploring fundamental physics and to work with great colleagues, postdocs and students. I’ve been doubly lucky to have the opportunity to help build the Perimeter Institute. I am honoured to be recognized by the CAP in this manner." view the press release
Achievement
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Charles Gale , McGill University ,
in recognition of his profound contributions as a world leader in high-energy nuclear science, and in the physics of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions of high temperature and density .
"I am honoured to receive the CAP Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics, and I thank my mentors, students, postdocs, collaborators and colleagues. From all of them I have learned a lot. I express my deep gratitude to all members of my family for their unwavering support." view the press release
Achievement
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Robert Brandenberger , McGill University ,
in recognition of to recognize his coupling of ground-breaking developments in theoretical cosmology with recent dramatic advances in observational astronomy of the early universe.
"I am greatly honoured to have been chosen as recipient of the 2021 CAP Lifetime Achievement Medal. I am grateful to my teachers, my collaborators, my students and my family for their encouragement, and I look forward to many more interesting research results." view the press release
Achievement
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Eric Hessels , York University ,
in recognition of for his world leadership in advancing the state of the art for high precision atomic physics measurements, and their significance as tests of fundamental physics.
"I am very honoured to receive this award. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and intelligence of my students and collaborators, as the work being honoured here would not have been possible without them.”" view the press release
Achievement
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Douglas Bonn , University of British Columbia ,
in recognition of for his accomplishments in quantum materials that have advanced our understanding of high-temperature superconductors.
"I am grateful and humbled by this recognition, which is for work that has always been done in a multitude of strong teams with many other researchers. Canada, and CAP, have always been a welcoming place for such a collaborative research approach." view the press release
Achievement
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Jean-Michel Poutissou , TRIUMF ,
in recognition of for his lifelong contributions to the field of experimental particle physics. Jean-Michel’s decades-long research career includes pioneering work on precision measurements of rare decays and their implications for the Standard Model, ground-breaking work on the use of off-axis neutrino beams for studying neutrino oscillations. Moreover, having served as TRIUMF’s Associate/Science Director for 21 years, he’s dedicated decades of outstanding leadership and stewardship in transforming TRIUMF into a world-class multidisciplinary research laboratory.
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Achievement
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Mark Sutton , McGill University ,
in recognition of for pioneering the development of coherent and time-resolved X-ray scattering techniques for the study of materials, and his resulting contributions to our understanding of materials and phase transitions.
"I am honoured and delighted for the recognition of my work by the CAP. I wish to thank my many collaborators, students and postdocs over the years, not only were they fun to work with, I learned a lot from them." view the press release
Achievement
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Gilles Fontaine , Université de Montréal ,
in recognition of for his pioneering, world-renowned work in theoretical and observational studies of white dwarf stars and the late stages of stellar evolution, including major contributions to the equation of state for white dwarfs and investigations of pulsating compact stars, as well as the discovery of a new class of subdwarf pulsators. His leadership has built what is arguably the preeminent group in the world in this field.
"I am deeply honored to have been selected the recipient of this prestigious national award. I feel privileged to live in a country where I could fulfill my teenage dreams of pursuing a research career in physics." view the press release
Achievement
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John F. Martin , University of Toronto / IPP ,
in recognition of for his contributions to experimental particle physics and his leadership role in the international physics community.
"It is a great honour to be awarded this CAP medal. The experimental subatomic physics program in Canada has grown tremendously during my career, both in scope and international impact, and it has been quite an adventure to be involved. My contributions have been very much part of a collaborative enterprise, and in that spirit I consider that I’m sharing this recognition with my many colleagues." view the press release
Achievement
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André-Marie Tremblay , Université de Sherbrooke ,
in recognition of for his pioneering work in the theory of Quantum Materials.
"Physics always fascinated me, but I never believed that it would allow me to meet so many talented students, postdocs and colleagues without whom, in the final analysis, good ideas would have never seen the light of day. Their presence is precious for me and it is in their name that I accept this prize. Thanks also to the CRC program, UdeS, CIFAR, and the numerous funding agencies." view the press release
Achievement
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David John Lockwood , National Research Council ,
in recognition of for his distinguished and sustained contributions to the elucidation of the optical properties of solids, low-dimensional semiconductor systems, and in particular light-emission from silicon, as well as his contributions to the advancement of physics in Canada and worldwide.
"I am humbled by this prestigious recognition from my peers for a lifetime’s work in this wonderful country. I dedicate this award with grateful thanks to my talented colleagues at the National Research Council, without whom none of this work would have been possible." view the press release
Achievement
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Gordon W. Semenoff , University of British Columbia ,
in recognition of for his seminal contributions to quantum field theory, statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics.
"I am absolutely delighted to receive a CAP Lifetime Achievement Award. It is an extraordinary honour. My scientific work owes a great deal to my many co-workers, collaborators and students and I consider this award an equal acknowledgement of their talent and hard work." view the press release
Achievement
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See L. Chin , Université Laval ,
in recognition of for his outstanding contributions to ultrafast intense laser science.
"I am thankful to this land of fairness where I had the opportunity and freedom to be taught and helped by many, to dream, to develop, to promote my idea, to collaborate with others, to open up to the world, to try to excel and to be recognized. Thank you, CAP, for crystallizing this spirit of Canada." view the press release
Achievement
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J. Richard Bond , Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics ,
in recognition of for his broad and fundamental contributions to cosmology and astrophysics, and his leadership which has contributed greatly to Canada's well-recognized efforts in these areas. He has developed the study of fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background into a powerful tool for the understanding of the structure and history of our universe.
"I consider this Achievement Award as CAP's recognition of the large impact our Canada-wide efforts in unveiling cosmic mysteries has had on the physics world, as well as for my work. And the timing is perfect as we celebrate 25 years of the enabling partnership of our Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research." view the press release
Achievement
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Richard Peltier , University of Toronto ,
in recognition of for his seminal contributions to understanding the physics of the earth, including glacial isostatic adjustment, mantle convection, fluid dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans, and global climate variability.
""I'm both delighted and honored to be named the 2009 recipient of the CAP Medal for Achievement in Physics. I consider the award to equally acknowledge the efforts of the talented students and post doctoral fellows with whom I have been fortunate to work"" view the press release
Achievement
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Louis Taillefer , Universite de Sherbrooke ,
in recognition of for his strong leadership in condensed matter research, resulting in the discovery of multi-component superconductivity, the first observed violation of the Wiedemann-Franz universal ratio of charge and heat conductivities, and an experimental breakthrough in high-temperature superconductors, where quantum oscillations were discovered.
view the press release
