Welcome to Canada

Bienvenue à Montréal

Rutherfordat McGill

stayed 9 years (1898-1907)In 1907 moved to ManchesterNobel Prize in Chemistry 1908

The Physics Building at McGill, donated by the tobacco millionaire William Macdonald, was new (it was opened in 1893) and was reputed to be one of the finest, and best equipped, science buildings in the world.

His presence generated a flurry of activities: published 69 papers during the 9 years either alone or withWith collaborators (F. Soddy, 9 between 1901-1903)

Session D5. FHP: The History of Physics in Canada: Some Highlights.

Monday afternoon, 14:30 14:30 Harriet Brooks: Canada's First Woman Physicist

Geoffrey Rayner-Canham (Memorial University) 15:06 Mclennan, Allen and Misener: Low temperature physics at Toronto in 1920-1936 and the discovery of superfluidity Allan Griffin (University of Toronto) 15:42 Gerhard Herzberg and The Temple of Science

Boris P. Stoicheff (University of Toronto) 16:18 Brockhouse and others: Neutron Scattering and Condensed Matter Physics at Chalk River Eric Svensson (National Research Council Canada)

with Canadian connections

arrowsare forphysicists

Nobel Prize winners

Einstein in 1905

•E = h

•Brownian dynamics

•Special Theory of Relativity

Einstein in the Bern patent office. "A practical profession is a salvation for a

man of my type; an academic career compels a young man to scientific

production, and only strong characters can resist the temptation of superficial

analysis."

Time Magazine cover Dec. 31st 1999

In a century that will be remembered foremost for its science and technology – in particular for our ability to understand and harness the forces of the atom and the universe – one person stands out as both the greatest mind and paramount icon of our age: the kindly, absentminded professor whose white halo of hair, piercing eyes, engaging humanity and extraordinary billiance made his face a symbol and his name a synonym for genius: Albert Einstein.

Walter IsaacsonTime Magazine, December 31st, 1999

Canada must build a 21st century economy.

From a speech given in Montréal on 18 September 2003

•… an economy driven, … by individual ingenuity and creativity.

Paul Martin, PM of Canada

•This means supporting basic research, it means a much greater effort to commercialize applied research, and adopting cutting edge technologies so that Canadian businesses don’t ever settle for things that work just well enough.

The Government's Innovation Agenda

The Federal government's Innovation Strategy: to bring Canada from 10th to 5th in R&D investment by 2010

What has been done: "Make universities and colleges the centres for Canadian research and development" (Paul Martin)

($11 billion committed)

Great Improvements in Science Funding since 1998

Change the mission of Government labs: now a support for industry, especially small businesses, to bring new products to market

Investments in University Research

What has been done: 1. Canada Research Chairs (1200 research professors)2. Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI)

($1.8 B spent since 1997, $10 B by 2010)3. Increase in Granting Councils Budgets (14 to 17%)4. Indirect Costs of Research ($200 M /year)5. Millennium and Canada Graduate scholarships 6. Canadian Light Source ($35 K/year)

National Science Advisor

Physics Today March 2004 p. 32

The first in 30 years

http://www.cap.ca

(a secure web site)

•Liaison with Government and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council•Protection of the Profession•Physics Education•The Annual CAP Congress•Physics in Canada

The Canadian Association of Physicists

CAP is a lead organization in lobbying efforts through•Tri-Society (Physics, Biology, and Chemistry)•Canadian Consortium for Research•Partnership Group for Science and Engineering (PAGSE)

The intense lobbying efforts bore fruit!

Liaison with Government (Federal)Context: Research Funding had declined dangerously by the early 90's

(brain drain fears). The federal government is the driving force behind research. Provinces follow suit through matching funds (mostly: Alberta, Ontario, Quebec)

Liaison Committee with NSERC(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council)

• Initiated by the CAP, because of the Reallocation Exercise(every four year, 10% of each committee's budget taken away and redistributed based on the quality of plans to spend the Money)

• For Physics: 1st exercise, disastrous; 2nd, good; 3rd, excellent

• In its current form, the exercise has run its course (divisive, stressful)

It is being rethought! Q: How best to incorporate discipline dynamics?

Challenges

1.- NSERC provides the bulk of operating grants for Research.It is under stress because of:

• New applicants: in physics nearly half of the applicants (including senior Canada Research chairs)

• New equipment (CFI) : increased operating costs for a larger infrastructureNSERC's budget needs to be doubled by 2010.

The increases given so far are not sufficient

2.- The Canadian Neutron Facility not yet funded: political issues + not easy to sell to the public plans for a new

Nuclear Reactor

Challenges (cont'd)

3.- Increased emphasis on research in universities (Federal spending, matched by provinces)

but no new money for teaching resources(Canada Research Chairs teach little or not all)

There is now talk of creating teaching chairs (this would mean more Federal government involvement

in provincial juridictions)

Challenges (cont'd)

4.- Issue of Government labs: fundamental research shifted touniversities, but there is a role for labs dedicated to research (now, main mission: creating new companies, commercialization)

Commercialization

Joe Fontana, MPParliamentary secretary

Canada is way behind the US in transfer of technology from universities to industry

There is the commitment to basic research but the will also to providethe missing link

• Every province has an Engineering Act regulating the profession: Engineering encompasses all human activities involving science and engineering, with

exemption clauses for natural scientists.• A constant vigilance is required:

The New Act in British Columbia maintains the exemption clause but adds the requirement of membership in a Canadian learned society (!! e.g. CAP).

Practice of the Profession

• New buzzword: "inclusion" (technologists, …)

A means to protect in the long term the practice of the profession in Canada

• A registered trademark• A certification process (code of ethics)• 169 licensees

Professional Physicist (P.Phys. ®, phys. ®)

• Current main goal: Revitalization of the undergraduate physics programs to ensure healthy enrolments (through a national plan of renewal of the curriculums)• + a set of ongoing outreach activities (Careers web site, lecture tours, prize exams, Undergraduate Physics Conf., high school teachers workshops)

Physics Education

•Is gaining in popularity and impact 2002, Quebec City, 1000 attendees

(with Photonics North) 2003, Prince Edward Island, 500•In June 2004, in Winnipeg,jointly with four societies: CAP, astronomers (CASCA), medical physicists (COMP), biophysicists (BSC)

www.cap.ca

The annual CAP Congress

100th anniversary of the University of Manitoba

CAP Congress in Vancouverfor WYP05 in June 2005

Would like to express our appreciation for the cooperation and help we are receiving from the APS in the planning of our WYP05 events. Canada was not present at the first Planning Meeting. The APS represented us.

Pleased that the 2004 March Meeting is being held in Montreal.

The World Year of Physics 2005 Committee(Canada)

•Michael Steinitz (St Francis Xavier University)•Francine Ford, CAP Executive Director•Walter Davidson (National Research Council)

Vice-President Elect of the CAP•David Lockwood (National Research Council), Dir. Int. Affairs CAP•Tom Tiedje (University of British Columbia)•Richard Epp (Perimeter Institute) •Randall Brooks (National Museum of Science and Technology) •Ian Rutherford (Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society) •Robert Lamontagne (CASCA, astronomers)

+ not present Brian Turrell (UBC), Robert Hawkes (Mount Allison Univ.), Joanne O'Meara (Guelph Univ.), and Marcello Pavan (TRIUMF)

Canadian Delegation to the Planning Meeting