In this News Bulletin, you will find updates on the following:
- 2025 Congress
- 2025 Annual General Meeting
- 2025-2029 Strategic Plan
- IYQ 2025
- Student Advisory Council
- Undergraduate Conferences – CUPC 2025, CUPC 2026 and CCUW*iP 2027
- Science Policy Committee
- Physics in Canada
- CAP Lecture Tour
- Call for Volunteers
- Important Upcoming Dates and Events
2025 CAP Congress Highlights
Thank you for joining us in Saskatoon!
It was great to see everybody again.
We had a successful congress with 526 registrants and 388 oral or poster contributions. The local organizing committee, led by Sarah Purdy and Kaori Tanaka, did a wonderful job on local logistics; thanks also to our host, the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, to the program committee for a wonderful program, and thanks to Ellen Molloy-Parent and Francine Ford in the CAP Office for their efforts and support.
Check below for Congress highlights.
Climate Change Workshop
This year’s Congress included two sessions on climate change and the transition to energy sustainability. Recognizing that there are many facets to responding to climate change driven by human activities, these sessions showed that physicists have important roles to play in a range of different areas. Highlights included: progress in understanding clouds (one of the most uncertain parts of climate models); how environmental monitoring can both inform policy and facilitate public engagement; removing atmospheric carbon dioxide using the ocean; how adjustments in federal policies can drive change as decarbonization becomes more economical (even though diversity of energy use across Canada fosters political tension); and the role of transparency in trust in science. Speakers also shared their career path choices that led them to work in these research areas, and gave examples of how other physicists can become involved. We look forward to continuing the discussion at future Congresses.
Quantum Energy at Congress
This year’s CAP Congress saw an increase in quantum activities, a nice fit for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) 2025.
Events kicked off with the Herzberg Memorial Public Lecture, where Dr. Shohini Ghose, Wilfrid Laurier University, gave the audience a glimpse of Quantum 2.0. Her lecture will be posted on the CAP YouTube channel.
The Division of Quantum Information (DQI), founded in 2024, saw an increase in attendance for its three technical sessions, which included 3 invited speakers and 13 contributed talks and covered topics from quantum information to hardware platforms; its joint session with the Division of Physics Education (DPE) also had an increase in attendees. Five graduate students participated in the DQI oral competition.
The QSTATE (Quantum Science, Technology, Applications, Training and Education) Symposium discussed Open Source Quantum Computing and Ethical Quantum Innovation and brought in speakers on Quantum Sensing from a variety of backgrounds. It included a live demo on quantum space technology with the International Space Station and a hands-on demo of quantum key distribution (on Earth).
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| Caption: (left) Kelsey Ortiz performs a live demo on quantum space technology and (right) Wilson Wu, and Thomas Jennewein demonstrate quantum key distribution. | |
During Congress week, stickers, T-shirts, mugs and caps with the winning IYQ Canada Design (and other quantum designs) were very popular.
The quantum energy continued with the inaugural Quantum Days Satellite Series conference right after the CAP Congress, with research talks and industry presentations on real world applications as well as the traditional DQI Entanglement Social. There were just over 100 registered participants, including many students and postdocs from physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and beyond, and the programme featured 10 invited speakers, 8 panelists, and 3 special presenters/moderators. Participants were also able to join interactive, quantum-focused site tours of the Canadian Light Source and the Global Institute for Food Security, taking advantage of the unique research landscape at the University of Saskatchewan.
We would like to thank Saskatoon for being such a wonderful host for all things quantum in 2025!
CAP Recognitions
The CAP Congress provides us with the opportunity to recognize members of our community. The recipients of the CAP’s research and teaching related medals were invited to present a talk at Congress. Medals were awarded to all of the CAP Medallists for 2025 at the Congress Recognition Dinner.
Caption: Medal winners attending the Recognition Dinner (left to right), Nancy Forde (Teaching), Mark Boulay (Vogt), Peter Grutter (Brockhouse), Hong Guo (Lifetime Achievement), Richard Boudreault (Industrial and Applied Physics), Jo Bovy (Herzberg), and Stephen Pistorius (Kirkby). Photo credit: Gordon Drake
We also officially recognized Fellows of the CAP selected in 2025 at the Recognition Dinner, presenting each attending recipient with a plaque and a Fellows pin, as shown in the photo below.
Caption: Fellows attending the Recognition Dinner (left to right), Béla Joós, Darren Grant, André-Marie Tremblay, Bruce Gaulin, Shohini Ghose, Norman Murray, Douglas Bryman. Fellows who were unable to attend the 2025 Congress include: Sarah Gallagher, Pekka Sinervo, and Louis Taillefer. Photo credit: Gordon Drake
Best Student Presentation Competition
The Best Student Presentation Competition was very busy with 102 participants competing for a total of 46 prizes, adjudicated by judging panels that involved a total of 53 member volunteers. Prizes were awarded by the CAP and its Divisions in both oral and poster categories. Congratulations to all, and many thanks to our volunteer judges!
Caption: BSPC winners who attended the student award ceremony. Photo credit: Gordon Drake
2025 CAP Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The 2025 CAP AGM was held on Zoom on June 19, 2025. Thank you to all those who attended. Below we try to capture a few highlights. For details, see the CAP website: https://cap.ca/about-us/governance/2025-virtual-agm/
Martin Williams (President 2024-2025) presented an engaging report on activities during his term:
One of the main purposes of the AGM is to elect a new Board of Directors. The slate of directors as presented was approved at the meeting. The list of all members of the 2025-26 Board of Directors can be found on this CAP webpage.
Your Executive for 2025-26 is:
President
Pierre Bénard,
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Vice President
Wendy Taylor,
York University
Vice President Elect
Cornelia Hoehr,
TRIUMF
Past-President
Martin Williams,
University of Guelph
Secretary-Treasurer
Christine Kraus,
SNOLAB
Executive Director
Francine Ford,
Canadian Assoc. of Physicists
The 2025-2029 Strategic Plan
We are thrilled to share the CAP’s 2025-2029 Strategic and Implementation Plans, which were launched at the closing of the 2025 Congress and discussed at the 2025 AGM. These plans describe a roadmap for the next five years to achieve our mission “to champion physics and broaden our community in Canada”. Some key initiatives in year 1 of the Implementation Plan are to assess the broader physics community (members and non-members) in Canada; to create various task forces: graduate education, early-career researcher, high-school, cégep and college physics teacher, physicists in non-academic careers; and to engage Departmental/Institutional Representatives to help promote CAP to students and colleagues. Volunteers, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome.
IYQ 2025 Update
The IYQ Canada Team is planning more events for the Fall, with information coming next month. If you have suggestions, please contact the IYQ-Canada co-chairs: Oliver Stelzer-Chilton (stelzer-chilton@triumf.ca) or Daria Ahrensmeier (dahrensm@sfu.ca). If you are planning an event, please submit details at quantumcanada2025.ca (select “Submit an Event” under Event tab) to spread the word. We are looking forward to continuing to celebrate Canada’s quantum achievements, to engage communities, and to inspire the next generation of quantum innovators.
Student Advisory Council Updates
The Student Advisory Council is happy to announce the return of ‘The Physics Hour’. Running throughout the Fall, various professors from across Canada will be giving talks aimed at students. Follow the SAC on Instagram @cap_sac for more information or visit the website: sac.cap.ca/the-physics-hour-2025/. If you have missed a lecture, you will be able to watch them on the SAC’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@capstudentadvisorycouncil5706.
Undergraduate Conference Updates – CUPC 2025, CUPC 2026 and CCUW*iP 2027
Update on CUPC 2025 and Virtual Grad Fair
We regret to share that the Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference (CUPC) will not be taking place this year because we did not receive a bid to host. While we understand this may be disappointing, we encourage you to stay engaged and excited for CUPC 2026.
This fall, join us for a virtual graduate fair showcasing physics graduate programs from across Canada. This event will offer undergraduate students a valuable opportunity to explore graduate school options, connect with faculty, and gain insights into research opportunities, funding, and life as a graduate student in physics. The plan is to hold the virtual grad fair in late October or early November. Stay tuned for more details!
Call for Hosts – 2026 Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference
Call for Hosts – 2027 CCUW*IP Conference
The Canadian Association of Physicists invites students to apply to host two undergraduate conferences: the 2026 Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference (CUPC) and the 2027 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CCUW*iP).
The CUPC is a four-day annual event that brings together physics students from across the country to present research, attend invited lectures, tour local research facilities, and connect with graduate programs. The CCUW*iP encourages undergraduate students from under-represented groups to pursue their physics education by networking with a diverse and inclusive group of physicists of all ages, with whom they can share experiences, advice, and ideas.
Hosting either conference is a unique opportunity to showcase your institution, support your fellow students, and contribute to a vibrant and inclusive physics community in Canada.
Interested in hosting? Check out the CUPC and CCUW*iP websites for more details.
Science Policy Updates
The Science Policy Committee met at the 2025 Annual Congress held in Saskatoon and had discussions spanning the range of challenges within the physics community and the importance of advocating with government to achieve improvements for the future of physics in Canada.
Items discussed include:
- Stable funding for research and infrastructure
- Retaining human capital and addressing immigration barriers
- Improving science literacy and society engagement
- Physics education and career outlooks
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
- Broader societal challenges
- International collaboration
Details are posted in this Science Policy News Item.
The committee also discussed its annual submission to the pre-budget consultation. The submission was made on August 1, 2025 and included two recommendations:
Recommendation #1: To secure Canada’s future prosperity and sovereignty, we urge the government to make significant investments in the research and development ecosystem. This includes accelerating growth in critical technology sectors—such as clean energy, AI, quantum computing, and advanced biosensing—and bolstering the foundational science that fuels this innovation pipeline. A strategic increase in funding is essential to attract and retain top talent, drive economic competitiveness, and ensure Canada is a leader, not a follower, on the global stage.
Recommendation #2: That the government accelerate the timetable laid out in Budget 2024 for increased investment in the Tri-council agencies’ core grant programming to ensure the younger generation has access to affordable education and Canada’s workforce has the access to the highly skilled workers needed for expanding the innovation economy and increasing productivity.
Details are posted in this Science Policy News Item.
Physics in Canada
With Vol. 79(1) posted in May and Vol. 80(1) nearly complete, we are currently working on two issues for 2025. Vol. 81(1) will contain material related to the 2025 Congress and short reviews and educational articles submitted by our community. Vol 81(2) will be a special theme issue to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), and will focus on the exciting work happening in Quantum Physics related fields in Canada. The guest editors for this special theme issue are Julien Ross (Dalhousie), John Donohue (IQC), and Ben Newling (UNB). Input is welcome. Issues are posted on the Physics in Canada website.
We welcome theme issue ideas for 2026 and beyond. Please send ideas to the Editor-in-Chief of Physics in Canada, Béla Joós, at pic-pac@cap.ca. You are also invited to submit photographs of beautiful or unusual physics phenomena that may be selected to appear on the cover of Physics in Canada to pic-pac@cap.ca. We are always interested in submissions of features, interviews, and physics education articles that inform and educate. These articles should be accessible to an audience of 4th year undergraduate physics students. For more information on submissions and the call for cover art, check out the Physics in Canada section of the CAP website.
CAP Lecture Tour
In August 2023, the CAP Foundation received a $300k donation to create an endowment that earns interest to cover the costs of the CAP’s lecture tour. With this endowment, the CAP/CAPF re-established the in-person lecture tour series in 2024. The 2025 lecture tour comprised 20 talks where speakers travelled to host institutions in AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, ON, QC, and SK aimed at undergraduate students. The 2025 series also included a pilot talk at a cégep for the new high school/cégep lecture program. Recordings of several talks can be found on the CAP YouTube channel.
The 2026 lecture tour program, which will be organized by our dedicated team of Lecture Tour Coordinators, will take place between January and March next year. Look for the call for potential speakers in September. Please help support our program by nominating a potential speaker. Click here for more information about the lecture tour program.
Call for Volunteers
- Student Affairs: The Student Advisory Council is currently seeking volunteers for the following positions: Graduate Chair, Undergraduate Chair, Treasurer, and Representative Roles. Be on the lookout for the call for applications for the open positions!
- Communications: Barbara Frisken, the CAP’s Director of Communications, is looking for volunteers to serve on the Communications Operating Committee. She is looking for graduate or undergraduate students interested in helping produce newsletters, emails and webpages. In particular, we are also looking for students who are proficient in French who can help check translations for accuracy. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Barbara Frisken, frisken@sfu.ca.
- CAP Advisory Council: The CAP is currently seeking a graduate student who would like to serve on the CAP’s Advisory Council as the voice of the graduate student membership. The one-year, renewable, position, begins immediately and ends at the 2026 AGM. If you are interested, please contact Ellen Molloy, programs@cap.ca, for more information.
Important Upcoming Dates and Events
- September 10 2025 – Opening of the call for nominations for 2026 CAP Lecture Tour speakers (Deadline for nominations September 24 2025)
- (Approximately) October 1 2025 – Opening of the call for 2026 CAP medal and fellow nominations (Deadline for nominations December 1 2025)
- (Approximately) October 1 2025 – Opening of the call for 2026 CAP/CAPF graduate student scholarship applications (Deadline for nominations December 1 2025)
- (Approximately) November15, 2025 – Opening of the call for abstracts for the 2026 CAP Congress
- January 30 – February 1, 2026 – The 2026 conference for under-represented undergraduate physics students in Canada (CCUW*iP) will be held at the University of British Columbia
- January – March 2026 – The CAP 2026 Lecture Tour, with speakers presenting to undergraduate students across the country
- June 21-26 2026 – The 2026 CAP Congress will be held in Ottawa, jointly hosted by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa
Bookmark the 2026 CAP Congress website! https://cap.ca/congress-conference/congress2026/
See you next year in Ottawa!
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