DNP Thesis Prize

2007-08 Competition:

The Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce the result of the 2007-08 Thesis Prize competition. This prize was set up in 2005 by the DNP, to be awarded in Experimental or Theoretical Nuclear Physics to any student receiving their Ph.D. degree from a Canadian University in the current or prior calendar year. The selection for the 2008 Prize was adjudicated by a committee consisting of David Hutcheon (representing TRIUMF), Jean Barrette (McGill University) and Kumar S. Sharma (University of Manitoba). Six theses were nominated, representing a broad variety of topics in nuclear physics.

By unanimous agreement among the judges, the recipient of the 2007 DNP Thesis Prize is Geoffrey Grinyer. Dr. Grinyer was awarded his Ph.D. by the University of Guelph in 2007 for the work "High Precision Half-life Measurements for Superallowed Fermi Beta Decays". The precise measurement of half-lives and branching ratios, described in Dr. Grinyer’s work, are instrumental in one of the most stringent tests of the unitarity of the CKM matrix, a fundamental test of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This work was performed under the supervision of Carl Svensson.

Dr. Grinyer shall receive a cash award of $750 from the DNP and will be invited to give a talk at the Winter Nuclear & Particle Physics Conference this coming February in Banff. The travel expenses will be generously covered by TRIUMF. A two page summary of Dr. Grinyer’s thesis work will appear in a later issue of Physics in Canada.

We would like to thank all of the nominees and the people who wrote letters of support for their participation in this year's competition. This is the third DNP thesis competition and the event is becoming a successful tradition for our Division.

The Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) is pleased to announce the result of the 2006-07 Thesis Prize competition. This prize was set up in 2005 by the DNP, to be awarded in Experimental or Theoretical Nuclear Physics to any student receiving their Ph.D. degree from a Canadian University in the current or prior calendar year. The selection for the 2006-07 Prize was adjudicated by a committee consisting of Rituparna Kanungo (representing TRIUMF), Wim van Oers and Garth Huber. Three theses were nominated, representing a broad variety of topics in nuclear physics.

By unanimous agreement among the judges, the recipient of the 2007 DNP Thesis Prize is Simon Turbide. Dr. Turbide was awarded his Ph.D. by McGill University in 2006 for the work "Electromagnetic radiation from matter under extreme conditions". This is a theoretical work relating to the production of electromagnetic radiation during relativistic heavy ion collisions. This work was performed under the supervision of Charles Gale.

Dr. Turbide shall receive a cash award of $750 from the DNP, along with an invited talk invitation at the Winter Nuclear & Particle Physics Conference this coming February in Banff. The travel expenses will be generously covered by TRIUMF. A summary of Dr. Turbide's thesis work will appear in a later issue of Physics in Canada.

The Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) is pleased to announce that the inaugural recipient of the DNP Thesis Prize is Dr. Daniel Melconian. This prize was set up in 2005 by the DNP, to be awarded in Experimental or Theoretical Nuclear Physics to any student receiving their Ph.D. degree from a Canadian University in the current or prior calendar year. Dr. Melconian was awarded his Ph.D. by Simon Fraser University in 2005. He is presently a Research Associate at the University of Washington in Seattle.

How to apply for the next competition:

The Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) encourages entries for the DNP Ph.D. thesis prize to be awarded in Experimental or Theoretical Nuclear Physics to any student receiving their Ph.D. degree from a Canadian University in the current or prior calendar year.

To be considered for the award, a letter of nomination must be submitted by the thesis supervisor along with a copy of the thesis (preferably in electronic form) to the chief judge by Sept 30. The nomination letter should describe in detail the contributions of the student to the research work. The student's C.V., including a list of publications and conference contributions, should accompany the nomination. A letter from the Department Head or University Dean indicating that the thesis has been formally accepted by the University must also be submitted.

The prize winner will be notified by Dec. 31 and asked to give an invited talk at the annual Winter Nuclear & Particle Physics Conference in February along with a seminar at TRIUMF. Travel expenses will be covered by the DNP and TRIUMF. The winner will also be required to submit a 1-2 page article suitable for publication in Physics in Canada describing the significance of their thesis work before they receive their cash award ($750) from the DNP. Both the supervisor and the nominee must be members of CAP and DNP. If fewer than 3 theses have been submitted in a given year, there will not be any award made and the submitted theses will automatically be considered in the following year's competition.