Oxford Instruments is pleased to announce the 2012 winner of the Lee Osheroff Richardson North American Science Prize is Dr Kenneth Burch from the Department of Physics and Institute for Optical Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Dr Kenneth Burch from the Department of Physics and Institute for Optical Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Dr Burch is an outstanding young experimental condensed matter physicist who has made seminal contributions to the fields of spintronics, nanotechnology, and optical properties of novel materials. Dr. Burch joined the faculty of the University of Toronto in July 2008, following his graduate work with D.N. Basov at the University of California, San Diego and his postdoctoral work as a Director's Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratories with A.J Taylor.
Dr Burch will be presented with the prize at the Oxford Instruments "Socialize with Science" event at the APS2012 March meeting in Boston, USA on the 28th of February.
Professor Bruce Gaulin from Mc Master University and Prize Committee Chairman commented: "Dr. Burch was selected from a very strong cohort of nominees. His selection was in recognition of novel mechanical exfoliation studies of both high temperature superconductors and topological insulators, combined with optical studies of related highly correlated electron materials. His record of innovative and deep studies of these topic systems was most impressive."
The Lee Osheroff Richardson North American Science Prize, endorsed by the British Embassy Washington DC, is named after David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff and Robert C. Richardson who were joint winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996, for their discovery of superfluidity in 3He. The aim of this annual prize is to support the career development of young scientists conducting research employing low temperatures and/or high magnetic fields in North America. The prize winner receives $8000, a unique trophy and certificate and the opportunity to present their work at a conference. Nominations are assessed by a committee of senior scientists from across North America.
Previous winners of the prize are Dr. Christian Lupien, Dr. Jason Petta, Dr. Suchitra Sebastian and Dr. Eunseong Kim, Dr. Vivien Zapf and Dr. Jing Xia.