2020-2021 Loudon-Hines Gold Medal and Scholarship in Physics
The Loudon-Hines Gold Medal and Scholarship in Physics was established in 2018 through the generosity of two anonymous donors. The 2020-2021 recipient is: Mathew Bub
Van Kranendonk TA Awards
Named in honour of Jan Van Kranendonk, the Van Krandendonk Award is given every year to four graduate students who have done the best job as Teaching Assistants during the current year.
Jan Van Kranendonk (above) was also recognized as an outstanding teacher - his brilliant lectures inspired generations of graduate students to excel in their own teaching. The variety of scientific areas in which Jan’s former students and postdoctoral fellows are presently working is a living testimonial to his talents as a teacher. His legacy is commemorated with these awards.
The 2020-2021 recipients were:
Ramina Alwarda - PHY151F
"Has been working hard to create a relaxing environment for the tutorial. She explains the physics question clearly and provides additional help if needed. I just have so much gratitude for her.”
Sean Colford - PHY131F, PHY131S
"An exceptional TA. He is amazing at what he does and strives to make students in his class to reach for the best. He's one of the best TAs I've had in all my three years here, He understands the current situation and is actively empathetic for the students. He is also an extraordinary person showing kindness and smiling throughout the whole session.”
John Feng - PHY131F, PHY224S
“A really understanding and fair TA. During practical sessions, he is very helpful and a very engaging person. He tries his best to keep us engaged during our practical sessions by connecting with us using memes, etc. He always gives proper feedback and wants us to do really well. He explains what he wants clearly. He is always ready to answer our questions. He is a really kind TA.”
Timothy Samuel* - PHY151F, PHY152S
*(Department of Medical Biophysics)
"The most wonderful TA I have had in my first year at UofT. He was extremely helpful and generous with the Practicals especially with respect to helping us understand uncertainties, methods, plots using Python, etc. Over and above, he has always been the most accessible of all my TAs in terms of any help or input that I needed.”
Department of Physics Staff Awards
Since no awards were made in 2020, and in recognition of the tremendous efforts made by staff during the pandemic, there were four awards this year.
Administrative Staff Awards
Krystyna Biel
"The pandemic struck in the middle of the “Get to Know Us Weekend” and at the start of the PhD exam period. Krystyna did an amazing job of navigating all of the complexities that arose, and keeping the entire graduate program on track. Since then, she has directed a complete recruitment cycle, and the enrollment of a new class of students, all online."
Nominators noted how pleasant she was to work with, and how effective in dealing with issues and solving problem.
Sheela Manek
"Sheela’s work spans everything from Outreach to building operations; a nominator observed that she does this with “invariable enthusiasm, optimism, and good cheer”. This year she is the driving force behind a new outreach program that has identified a cohort of black youth interested in STEM, and hopes to support and enable them in their academic pursuits over several years. It involves multiple academic departments and central offices of the University, and Physics is at the centre of this great program through Sheela’s efforts."
Technical Staff Awards
Pius Santiago
"Pius has been a critical part of our rapid transition to online activities, including quickly mastering Zoom to assist in the delivery of courses, colloquia and seminars. He has been very active in assembling and distributing the many different pieces of equipment that were needed for online course delivery. He also managed to find time to prepare videos of many classroom demonstrations for use in classes. His cheerful willingness to help and careful attention to details were much in evidence in all of his work."
Alex Cui
"Alex has been working on-site since the start of the pandemic. Despite real sourcing challenges, his determined efforts in stores insured that the necessary PPE and sanitizing supplies were in stock for all onsite activities. He also kept the doors open for receiving, and has been an important part of keeping the cryogenics operation running. He has been instrumental in procuring and shipping materials to students for courses and for the new Pursue STEM Outreach program championed by Sheela."
2021 Physics Student Union Teaching Awards
The Physics Student Union (PhySU) Teaching Award is an annual award intended to recognize exceptional pedagogy in undergraduate courses in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto.
Fall 2020 Recipient
Aephraim Steinberg - for exceptional pedagogy in PHY256
Winter 2021 Recipient
Stephen Julian - for exceptional pedagogy in PHY152
The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Annual Awards Ceremony
The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) held its annual awards ceremony on June 9, 2021 and members of the Department of Physics were honoured.
Debra Wunch - CMOS President’s Prize
For her 2017 paper “Comparisons of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) XCO2 measurements with TCCON", published in the Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. Dr. Wunch’s paper was a data-evaluation technical tour-de-force, with 45 scientists from 19 institutions around the world, allowing for the measurement of CO2 from the OCO-2 satellite with sufficient precision and accuracy to unlock our understanding of greenhouse gas emission sources and natural sinks.
Kristof Bognar and Jesse Velay-Vitow - CMOS Tertia MC Hughes Memorial Graduate Student Prize
Russell Blackport - CMOS Roger Daley Post-Doctoral Publication Award
Kimberly Strong - CMOS Fellow
2020 and 2021 Canadian Association of Physicists University Prize Exam Results
University of Toronto students had stellar results, taking a number of the top spots for two years in a row.
2020 CAP University Prize Results:
The top four out of ten students were from the University of Toronto and two were from U of T Physics.
1st – Samuel Li, University of Toronto, Physics Specialist
2nd – Hanzhen Lin, University of Toronto, BASc in Engineering Science
3rd – An Zihe, University of Toronto, Incoming Exchange with APSC from Peking University
4th – Kehui Li, University of Toronto, Physics Specialist
2021 CAP University Prize Exam Results:
Five of the top ten students were from the University of Toronto and four of them were from U of T Physics.
1st – Samuel Li, University of Toronto, Physics Specialist
4th – Tony An, University of Toronto, Physics Specialist
6th – QiLin Xue, University of Toronto, Engineering; BASc in Engineering Science
8th – Jay Epstein, University of Toronto (tie), Physics Specialist
8th – Ryan Ripsman, University of Toronto (tie), Physics Major
2021 Cohort of UCAR Next Generation Fellows Announced
Graduate Student Liz Cunningham among the Earth system science students from underrepresented communities selected for this prestigious University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) program.
David Dunlop Awarded the 2021 AGU Union John Adam Fleming Medal
The honorees —scientists, leaders, educators, journalists, and communicators—have made outstanding achievements and contributions by pushing forward the frontiers of science. Each embodies AGU’s vision of a thriving, sustainable, and equitable future powered by discovery, innovation, and action. They have worked with integrity, respect, and collaboration while creating deep engagement in education, diversity, and outreach. Among them is U of T Physics Professor David Dunlop.
Aephraim Steinberg Appointed as a 2021 University Professor
The title “University Professor” is the University’s highest and most distinguished academic rank.
More:
https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/news-and-events/news/physics-news/aephraim-steinberg-has-been-appointed-as-one-of-two-2021-university-professors/
Professor Sajeev John receives the 2021 Herzberg Gold Medal
Professor Sajeev John was named this year's recipient of the $1-million Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal — the highest honour given out by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
PhD Candidate Griffin Schwartz is Recipient of a 2021 TLCERF Grant
The Tyler Lewis Clean Energy Research Foundation (TLCERF) announced their three 2021 grants. Among them is U of T Physics' PhD candidate Griffin Schwartz whose work is on Inverted Pyramidal Pores in Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells. Griffin's supervisor is Professor Sajeev John.
Professor Emeritus Henry van Driel receives the 2021 CAP-COMP Peter Kirkby Memorial Medal for Significant Service to Canadian Physics
Henry van Driel, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics, has been awarded the prestigious 2021 Peter Kirkby Memorial Medal for Outstanding Service to Canadian Physics by the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP).
Announcement
Joseph Thywissen Appointed Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
Joseph Thywissen was appointed to a three-year term as the new Associate Chair for Graduate Studies on July 1, 2021. He takes over from Young-June Kim, who completed his term on June 30. Joseph is a Professor in the Experimental Quantum Optics Group.