The Canadian Association of Physicists joins members of our community in congratulating the winners of the 2020 CAP medals. We are very proud of these exemplary recipients and look forward to their medal talk presentations in the near future. Details will follow as soon as the schedule has been finalized.
2020 CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics
is awarded to
Kenneth Ragan, McGill University, for his overall accomplishments in teaching, and the promotion of quality teaching at his institution and within the CAP. He has taught many different courses spanning the range from large introductory courses for non-specialists to upper-level courses for final-year honours students and graduate students. His deep physics knowledge, along with his passion for physics and for his students, makes him a perfect candidate for the CAP Medal in Undergraduate Physics Teaching.
Read the full press release here
2020 CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal for Contributions to Subatomic Physics
is awarded to
Gordon C. Ball, TRIUMF, for fundamental contributions to low-energy tests of the Standard Model through ultra-high precision measurements of superallowed Fermi beta decays and for his leadership in the development of the ISAC science program at TRIUMF.
Read the full press release here
2020 CAP Herzberg Medal
is awarded to
Ebrahim Karimi, University of Ottawa, for his innovative leadership in developing structured quantum waves for applications to quantum communication and computation, microscopy and materials science.
Read the full press release here
2020 CAP Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics
is awarded to
Eric Hessels, York University, 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.
Read the full press release here
The 2020 Brockhouse Medal for outstanding achievement in condensed matter research has not yet been awarded. An announcement will be issued once the recipient has been decided.
The 2020 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, as well as the 2020 CAP-INO Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Photonics were deferred to 2021.
Call for nominations for 2021 CAP Medals will be issued following a review and enhancement of documentation
In June 2019, the Board approved a new strategic plan for the CAP which included the following mission statement: to advocate, communicate and celebrate the role, value and contributions of Canadian physics.
We strive to ensure that our medals and awards celebrate our stated values:
- Excellence and Professionalism
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity
- Collegiality and Mentorship
It is clear to the CAP Board that, historically, the slate of nominations for our medals and awards has not generally reflected the diversity of the membership of our community and thus members of underrepresented groups deserving of recognition have been overlooked.
We pledge to do better and are starting by undertaking a complete review of our award nomination and selection guidelines and procedures in advance of the call for 2021 medal and award candidates.
We hope that our membership will help us by putting forward nominations in future years that reflect the diverse excellence of our physics community.