U of T physics graduate student receives major national funding award
The inaugural John Stewart Bell Prize
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Three physics professors honoured by Royal Society of Canada
Two win medals, one elected as fellow
The University of Toronto has had a banner year in the number of faculty selected as fellows in the Royal Society of Canada and in those awarded medals from the prestigious organization.
Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada is the country's oldest and most prestigious scholarly organization. Its official name is RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (SRC: Académies des Arts, des Lettres et des Sciences du Canada).
The 2009 medal winners from the Department of Physics are:
University Professor Richard Bond of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics is the winner of the Henry Marshall Tory Medal. The medal recognizes outstanding research in astronomy, chemistry, mathematics or physics. One of the world's leading cosmologists, Bond is responsible for major new insights into dark matter, black holes and the structure and evolution of the universe. He has been honored with a wealth of important prizes, including the 2008 Cosmology Prize of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, the Humboldt Award and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal.
Professor Barth Netterfield of astronomy and physics is the winner of the Rutherford Memorial Prize in physics. This award recognizes outstanding research in any branch of physics. Netterfield is an observational cosmologist. His research is in the construction and use of balloon borne telescopes, which can achieve many of the benefits of space-based telescopes. His other prestigious honours include a EWR Steacie Memorial Fellowship and a Sloan Foundation Fellowship.
Professor Robert Orr of physics, U of T's team leader on the ATLAS project, a component of the renowned Large Hadron Collider, was elected as fellow.
"Recognition by the Royal Society of Canada is one of the great honours of a scholar's life," said President David Naylor. "Each of these research leaders is richly deserving of these awards and appointments, not only for their expertise and innovation in their specific fields but also for creating knowledge on which the next generations of scholars can build and, of course, for the positive impact of their work on society."