This year, the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) Undergraduate Lectures will be offered from January to March. Following a selection process based on input from undergraduate students from CAP member departments, several physicists from across the country will be chosen to present their lecture at at least one host institution within each of the six CAP regions, and up to four other satellite institutions.
Organization
Each speaker will present to undergraduates at a host institution, with their talk recorded and later uploaded to the CAP YouTube channel so they are available to all undergraduate students across Canada. Nearby universities can arrange for speakers to visit through their regional coordinator.
Speakers are selected from nominations made by CAP members by the National Lecture Tour Committee. Member departments identify their preferences, and a final list of speakers is chosen using the input received. Once the speakers are confirmed, the lecture dates and locations are finalized and posted on the CAP website. Department and institutional members are requested to promote the lecture to their students.
To meet the tour’s objective of enhancing the visibility of the CAP and of promoting student memberships, it is essential that all speakers be willing to act as ambassadors for the association. A brief set of slides introducing the CAP and the Lecture Tour sponsors will be provided to the host institution’s CAP Rep or the lecture tour regional coordinator for presentation during the introduction to the lecture speaker.
Planning Milestones
The planning milestones for the 2026 CAP Lecture Tour are as follows:
2025
- Early September: Call to CAP members, department members, corporate members, and institutional partners for speaker nominations using this form. Nominations are due by September 24.
- Mid-September: Call to Heads and Chairs of CAP member departments to consider hosting their regional CAP lecture tour speaker.
- Early October: List of potential speakers and abstracts available on the CAP website. Invitation to CAP member departments to review the speaker list and submit their top three choices to the National Coordinator.
- Late October: The national organizing committee meets to identify lecture tour schedule, make final selection of speakers as well as the host departments for each regional talk. Regional coordinators contact selected speakers and host institutions.
- Early November: Deadline for selected speakers and host institutions to confirm their participation.
- Mid-November: National Coordinator finalizes tour schedule (speaker, location, dates) and notifies speakers and host institutions.
- Early December: Lecture tour schedule is posted on the website and a NewsFlash is issued to all members.
2026
- January – March: The CAP Lecture Tour takes place at host and satellite departments. Recordings are made and posted on the CAP YouTube channel once available.
- May 31: Deadline for speakers to submit all expense claims to the CAP office.