2021 CAP Medal and Award Winners
The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and its medal partners are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 CAP medals.
A series of virtual plenary medal talks to honour the 2021 medal recipients will be organized on Dec. 17 and 20. Once finalized, the detailed talk schedule will be posted on the CAP's website and a NewsFlash will be released. The medals will be forwarded to all recipients with the congratulations of the community.
CRM
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Robert Raussendorf , University of British Columbia ,
in recognition of to recognize his eminent contributions to the theory of quantum computing, including groundbreaking work on measurement-based or "one way" quantum computing, fault-tolerant quantum computing, and computationally universal quantum phases of matter.
"I feel very honoured and delighted to receive the 2021 CAP-CRM prize in theoretical and mathematical physics. I also view it as a recognition of the fact that quantum computation needs fundamental research." view the press release
Kirkby
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Henry M. Van Driel , University of Toronto ,
in recognition of to recognize his outstanding service to the Canadian physics community over a period of more than forty-five years, which has included international efforts, great service to the CAP, work with NSERC on behalf of Canadian physics, and editorial service to distinguished journals in North America.
"It is indeed an honour to be recognized for efforts to help the physics community in Canada. This represents a welcome bright spot this late in my career and and coming during this interminable pandemic. I thank my chair, Kimberley Strong, and John Sipe for initiating and preparing the nomination." view the press release
Industrial
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Vincent Tabard-Cossa , University of Ottawa ,
in recognition of to recognize his innovative contribution to Physics by developing a new nanopore fabrication technique. Nanopores can electrically detect individual molecules like DNA and proteins and are finding applications in next generation diagnostics, sequencing, and data storage devices. Dr. Tabard-Cossa's ground-breaking controlled breakdown method of nanopore fabrication simplifies and replaces a previously cumbersome and expensive process, enabling scalable, low-cost fabrication of solid-state nanopores at sub-nanometer scale.
"I am honoured and humbled to receive the 2021 CAP Industrial and Applied Physics Medal. I thank the community for this recognition of my work and its impact in nanopore science and single-molecule biophysics, which was made possible through the achievements of my current and former group members and collaborators." view the press release
Brockhouse
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Roger Melko , University of Waterloo / Perimeter Institute ,
in recognition of to recognize his work on the theoretical understanding of many-body quantum systems through large-scale computer simulations. The theoretical tools developed by Dr. Melko’s group provide a new perspective on understanding of quantum condensed matter and have proven highly influential in areas such as quantum information, field theory, cold atomic matter, and artificial intelligence.
"It's an incredible honour for me to receive this recognition from the Canadian physics community. I am grateful for the support of my many wonderful colleagues and collaborators, particularly the brilliant students and postdocs whose many contributions are acknowledged by this award." view the press release
Teaching
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Richard James Epp , University of Waterloo ,
in recognition of to recognize his accomplishments in teaching and commitment to physics outreach. He consistently receives high teaching evaluations from majors and non-majors alike, and students commended his "Thinking Like a Physicist" series that replaced informal interactions during the pandemic lockdown.
"I am deeply honoured to be recognized amongst such an esteemed group of teaching-focused colleagues. Receiving this award has sparked me into thinking about new ways I might help students, sharing my love and understanding of Physics to inspire them to do the hard work it takes to master this beautiful and powerful discipline." view the press release
Herzberg
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Simon Caron-Huot , McGill University ,
in recognition of to recognize his creation and development of nonperturbative techniques in conformal field theory, thereby opening the way to broad-ranging applications from particle physics to condensed matter physics.
"I feel greatly honored to receive the CAP Herzberg medal and particularly humbled to join previous recipients whom I admire. Theoretical physics is a collaborative effort and I thank every student, postdoc, colleague and collaborator I have had the privilege to work with." 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
Vogt
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Sangyong Jeon , McGill University ,
in recognition of to recognize his contributions to the theory of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and of the resulting quark-gluon plasma.
"I am deeply honoured to receive this year’s CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal. I would like to thank all my collaborators, students, and postdocs over the years. Without them and the tradition of strong subatomic physics research at McGill, this would not have been possible." view the press release
