On Monday June 26 the department honoured its TA Award winners for the 2016-2017 academic year. The event was hosted by graduate chair, Silvia Mittler, during the weekly department coffee and each winner was awarded a certificate and a $100 gift card to the campus bookstore.

TA Award for Demonstration: Dan Hatfield

TA Award for Administration: Mitchell Brocklebank

TA Award for Tutoring: Shayamila Mahagammulla Gamage (absent, attending a conference in Romania)

At a ceremony back in May, Mark Baker was awarded the Faculty of Science’s Graduate Student Teaching Award for the Department of Physics & Astronomy

Congratulations to all our award winners!

On Thursday June 15, 2017, the department of Physics and Astronomy celebrated its graduating class of 2017 with a reception for graduates and their family and friends prior to the convocation ceremony at Alumni Hall. Congratulations to all of our Graduates!

Physics and Astronomy Graduating Class of 2017:

PhD and MSc Graduates in Attendance

BSc Graduates in attendance

Mike Sharpe obtained his honors BSc degree at Western in Physics in 1986.

After working at the London Regional Cancer Program for two years, he returned to Western to complete his PhD in Medical Biophysics.

Since then Mike’s work has transformed the medical physics field, making significant impact in the delivery of radiotherapy for breast cancer patients, and influenced medical physicists throughout the world. Quoting from the American Association of Physicist in Medicine, “Dr. Sharpe has advanced the field through the development, validation, and application of radiotherapy and imaging technologies on which he has published over 70 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 11 book chapters, and has co-authored several patents.”

Unfortunately, he passed away from cancer at the prime age of 51.

This past Friday (June 9, 2017) , the Michael B. Sharpe Memorial Symposium was held in Toronto, a day before Mike’s favourite cycling event, the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. Physicists and physicians from different parts of Canada came to give scientific talks interspersed with stories of how Mike Sharpe influenced their work and their lives.

So, what can we do with a BSc in Physics?  Mike Sharpe has provided a brilliant example – he touched many lives and made the world a better place.

Eugene

Congratulations are in order for a pair of Physics & Astronomy graduate students who won awards at recent conferences.

At the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) annual meetings in Edmonton, Megan Tannock won 1st prize for the Best student poster presentation (as judged by the Board), for her poster: Weather on Other Worlds: Discovery of Three Extremely Fast Rotating Brown Dwarfs.

At the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) Congress held in Kingston, Carolyn Cadogan won 2nd place in the Condensed Matter and Materials Physics division for her talk: Optical and Electrical Properties of Self-Assembled Silicon Nanoclusters.

Congratulations Megan and Carolyn!

For a fourth year Western is taking part in the Global Corporate Challenge: a 100-day, world wide adventure where every step counts.

Seven intrepid individuals from Physics and Astronomy have stepped up to the challenge and formed a team to represent the department called “Phitness & Astronomy”

Our Team: Jennifer, Carol, Paul, Jodi, Phin, Emily and Shailesh.

The challenge takes teams on a virtual tour around the world, each step in the real world counting for a step on their virtual tour. Our team began in Northern California and after only one week are currently crossing the New Mexico desert.

The adventure continues until September 1, and we wish our representatives all the best. Make P&A proud!