Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), or in French Association canadienne des physiciens et physiciennes (ACP) is a Canadian professional society that focuses on creating awareness among Canadians and Canadian legislators of

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

issues, sponsoring physics related events, physics outreach, and publishes ''Physics in Canada''. It was founded in July 1945. The organization has over 1,600 members and is

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

, functioning in English and French.

P. Phys. professional certification

The CAP can appoint an official designation called the P. Phys. which stands for Professional Physicist, similar to the designation of P. Eng. which stands for Professional Engineer. This designation was unveiled at the CAP congress in 1999 and more than 200 people carry this distinction.

Physics contests

The Canadian Association of Physics hosts several CAP physics contests across Canada each year, aimed at different levels of physics students. The CAP High School Prize exam is offered across Canada once a year, usually in early April, and aims to challenge physics students on their physics knowledge. It is a national exam and the top participants are invited to try out for the Canadian Physics Olympiad international team trained by volunteers from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. The CAP Lloyd G. Elliott Prize exam, also known as the "University Prize Exam", is offered once a year, usually in early February, to Canadian university undergraduate physics students. The CAP Best Student Presentation Competition is held during the CAP's annual congress. The CAP awards prizes to the physics students who make the three best oral presentations and the three physics students who make the three best poster presentations.

CAP Congress

The CAP holds an annual congress each year to discuss internal matters, hold elections, hold oral and poster sessions, give formation workshops to high school physics teachers, and hold the Herzberg Public Memorial lecture. The 2025 Congress was held at the University of Saskatechewan in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, Saskatechewan, Canada from June 8-14.

CAP Herzberg Medal

The CAP awards the Herzberg medal for outstanding research achievement by a Canadian physicist within 12 years of completing his or her doctorate. This medal is named after Canadian Nobel-prize winner Gerhard Herzberg and has been given annually since 1970.

CAP Fellowship

The CAP Fellowship recognizes active members who have made significant contributions to the Canadian physics community. The inaugural recipients were

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

laureates Arthur B. McDonald and Donna Strickland.

CAP Foundation activities

* The annual CAP Lecture Tour * Awards for teachers * High School Prize Examination * The Lloyd G. Elliott University Prize Examination * The Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Graduate Scholarship * The Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference * The Canada-America-Mexico (CAM) Graduate Student Conference * The Canada-Wide Science Fair

References

External links

* {{authority control Scientific societies based in Canada Physics societies 1945 establishments in Ontario Scientific organizations established in 1945 Presidents of the Canadian Association of Physicists