Carleton’s David Sinclair will receive the inaugural Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) -TRIUMF Vogt medal for his exceptional vision and contributions to the study of neutrino physics in the pioneering Sudbury Neutrino Observation (SNO).
Named in honour of top Canadian researcher and nuclear physicist, Erich Vogt, the CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal for Outstanding Experimental or Theoretical Contributions to Subatomic Physics recognizes and encourages outstanding experimental or theoretical contributions.
“I am extremely honoured to be selected to receive this award,” says Sinclair. “Canada has such a strong program in subatomic physics encompassing the whole spectrum of nuclear physics because there are so many very accomplished scientists working in this field. Working with Carleton’s SNOLAB group has enabled innovative research, helping us advance understanding in nuclear and particle physics.”
One of Canada’s most eminent scientists, Sinclair is the driving force behind the underground science lab situated two kilometres underground in the Vale/Inco Creighton Mine.
“We would like to congratulate our colleague, Dr. Sinclair on the prestigious honour of receiving the inaugural Vogt Medal,” says Kim Matheson, vice-president (Research and International). “His work at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory has truly raised the bar at the world-class facility that continues to put Canadian science and innovative research at Carleton on the world map. Dr. Sinclair’s research is of the highest calibre and has significantly impacted the global understanding of physics.”
His work addressing fundamental questions in elementary particle physics, astrophysics and the evolution of the universe paved the way in turning the observatory experiment into a permanent underground facility. As principle investigator for the SNOLAB project and founder of the SNO group at Carleton, he managed awards totalling $65 million for the design, construction and early operation of the facility.
Dr. Sinclair returned to Canada to participate in the SNO project after 16 years of teaching and research at Oxford University. At Oxford, he researched the structure of nuclei and also designed the first dedicated carbon-dating facility which was used to date the Shroud of Turin.
An award-winning researcher, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2004. He has also received the 2003 Davidson Dunton Research Lecturer and the inaugural Gold Medal for Research Achievement at Carleton University in 2006.
In 2007, he received the NSERC Polyani Award for his SNOLAB achievement – a world-leading experiment to find neutrinos –tiny particles produced inside the sun that had gone mostly undetected until now. The experiment’s results significantly revised the understanding of particle physics and were as one of the top 10 breakthroughs in all of science in the years 2001 and 2002.
A TRIUMF research scientist, he is currently developing a detector, EXO, to search for neutrino-less double beta decay which, if successful, would fundamentally advance our understanding of elementary particles and their interactions.
He will be presented with the medal after his plenary talk at the 2011 CAP Congress banquet at the Memorial University of Newfoundland on June 16, 2011.
The physics group at Carleton is very active in the SNO project. Work at Carleton in support of the SNO experiment focused on developing techniques to achieve the world’s lowest radioactivity water requiring radium contamination levels below a single atom per ton. Approximately 1,000 times below the previous best level, this pivotal achievement in SNO physics was accomplished with the collaboration of Carleton’s Cliff Hargrove. Prof. Alain Bellerive undertook a major role in the analysis of SNO data. Kevin Graham has joined Carleton’s SNO team, which is currently developing experiments for the new SNOLAB.