Recognitions
Anton Zilman
Associate professor Anton Zilman has been promoted to the rank of Professor, Tenure Stream effective July 1, 2023
Tahir Shaaran
Dr. Tahir Shaaran started a one-year appointment in January 2023 as a Visiting Scholar and member of the Quantum Optics group.
Faculty Awards
Professor David Curtin receives a distinguished Connaught Fund McLean Award
The McLean Award is funded by the University of Toronto’s Connaught Fund and is given in support of basic research in physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, engineering sciences or statistical sciences. It is awarded to an outstanding researcher early in their career to assist in attracting and supporting graduate students and post-doctoral fellows as part of their research team.
David received the McLean Award in recognition of his exceptional record of achievement in theoretical particle physics, including studies of dark matter, the weakness of gravity, and long-lived particle signatures.
“It’s a great honour to win the award,” says Curtin. “It’s wonderful validation of the research I'm doing and I’m very grateful for it. But I also see it as recognition of the amazing people already in my group,” he says, “and the incredible wellspring of motivated, talented undergraduates and graduate students that U of T attracts.”
2022 CAP-INO Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Photonics awarded to Professor Hoi-Kwong Lo
This medal recognizes Professor Hoi-Kwong Lo's outstanding impact on the field of Quantum communication in terms of practical implementations, laying the groundwork for commercial products for the Quantum internet.
Hoi-Kwong Lo laid the foundation of security of quantum key distribution by proving its unconditional security, thus solving a long-standing problem. Thanks to his work, we now know for sure that QKD in principle offers information-theoretic security based on the laws of quantum physics. Information-theoretic security is the Holy Grail of secure communication. Given the growing importance of cyber-security, this is an important achievement.
Professor Kaley Walker receives a 2022 Dean's Research Excellence Award
In 2022, the Faculty of Arts & Science created the Dean's Research Excellence Award to recognize mid-career faculty members whose research achievements have been cited as especially noteworthy.
Professor Kaley Walker of the Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Physics Group received one of the five inaugural awards. She is studying the composition of the atmosphere through the development and use of ground-based, high-altitude balloon and satellite instrumentation, especially in relation to atmospheric ozone recovery and climate change. She leads research at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut; is Deputy Mission Scientist for the Canadian Space Agency’s Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite mission, launched in 2003; and is playing a leading role in the development of the next generation of Earth observation satellites for Canada.
Professor Kimberly Strong receives the 2022 APECS International Mentorship Award
The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) International Mentorship Award recognizes mentors who have contributed significantly over a period of several years to the mentoring and fostering of early career researchers involved in research in the polar regions or the wider cryosphere. The 2022 award was presented to Prof. Kimberly Strong "for her devotion to the success of her students" by APECS and the ArcticNet Student Association at the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting held in Toronto in December.
(Photo credit: Troy Curtis)
More: https://arcticnet.ulaval.ca/annual-scientific-meeting-2022/
Staff Awards
Peter Hurley receives the 2023 Chancellor’s Leadership Award
The Chancellor’s Leadership Award is part of the University of Toronto’s Pinnacle Awards Program, which recognizes exceptional contributions by administrative staff and librarians. Recipients of the Chancellor’s Leadership Award demonstrate outstanding leadership and significantly advance the University’s mission to foster an academic community in which the learning and scholarship of every member may flourish.
Peter received this award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and exceptional level of commitment to the Department of Physics over the past 31 years. Peter is deeply engaged in all aspects of managing this large and complex Department to support its teaching and research mission. As a consummate professional with an unparalleled understanding of technical, managerial, financial, and policy issues, Peter is incredibly effective in his role. He is proactive in identifying issues, creative in solving problems, known for his kindness and responsiveness, and universally admired throughout the Department of Physics.
More: https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/news-and-events/news/physics-news/awards/
Student Awards
PhySU receives the ASSU’s Sanjeev Dewett Course Union of the Year Award
The undergraduate Physics Student Union (PhySU) received the 2022-23 Sanjeev Dewett Course Union Award, which is presented annually to the most active course union in the Arts and Science Students’ Union (ASSU).
PhySU was recognized for providing students with valuable academic and social experiences throughout the year, fostering a sense of community through social events. PhySU also engaged in monthly Arts and Science Student Union Council meetings to work in collaboration with other unions and student groups on campus.
Employee Anniversaries
Julian Comanean, Information Systems Specialist, Physics Computing Services
Celebrating 20 years at the Department of Physics
Steven Butterworth, who leads the PCS team, shared his thoughts about this milestone for Julian.
Very soon after my own arrival in December 2002, a hiring committee was struck to increase the PCS complement to four members with a new web specialist position. Amongst the 54 candidates who made it past HR vetting, Iulian quickly stood out for having both the technical and social skills to effectively fill the position. Once hired, he immediately began work revamping the Physics website, cleaning up many years of accumulated 1990s cruft, implementing a new look, and starting us on the path to the era of web application development that we are now in.
Over the last twenty years, Iulian has improved PCS and departmental processes by developing web-accessible, database-backed tools for:
• updating personnel data,
• assignment and recovery of building keys and access FOBs,
• PCS billing
• building management,
• account lifecycle management, and
• tracking of numerous computer and network resources.
While Iulian's technical skills are impressive, I suspect that the biggest impression that he has left within the Department is with the dedication he brings to working with people to help them solve their problems, be they simple or complex. The feedback that I have received from staff and faculty has been almost uniformly positive, and occasionally, especially in the early days, bordering on ecstatic.
It has been a pleasure to work with Iulian for these two brief decades, and I look forward to many more years of rewarding and fruitful collaboration.
Congratulations, Iulian, on twenty successful years!