Activities

CAP Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics

This medal is intended to recognize and promote the creativity of scientists working in Canada in the area of industrial and applied physics, and to particularly recognize the successful application of physical principles to the creation of practical innovations, as demonstrated (for example) by novel/commercializable products or processes, and/or patents.

The award is open to all scientists and engineers, whether in industry, research institutes, universities, government, or elsewhere. It is not intended to discourage the nomination of applied scientists for the other CAP Medals.

Formerly the Prize for Innovative Applied Physics of the Division of Industrial and Applied Physics (DIAP), the CAP Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics was awarded for the first time at the 1991 CAP Congress. It is awarded bi-annually by the CAP, on recommendation of the DIAP.

The 2011 medal was awarded to
Wayne Hocking, University of Western Ontario, for his outstanding achievements. Not only has he made significant advances in the science of radar studies of the atmosphere but he has also transformed these into commercial products that have won wide international acceptance.

The next medal will be awarded in the year 2013. Deadline for nominations is January 14, 2013.

Nomination Criteria

  • The nominator must be a member of the CAP. 
  • The nominee must be a member in good standing of the CAP or a Council-approved Canadian professional science society (see list below) in order to be nominated. 
  • The nominee must have spent the major part (i.e. more than one-half) of his/her working career in Canada or must have made a major contribution to physics after returning to a permanent position in Canada.

Council-approved Canadian professional science society

The nominee must belong to one of the following societies to be eligible for the CAP Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics:

  • Canadian Association of Physicists
  • Canadian Astronomical Society
  • Canadian Geophysical Union
  • Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
  • Canadian Organization for Medical Physicists
  • Canadian Society for Chemistry