Famous Canadian Physicists

Donna Strickland is a Canadian optical physicist who is considered a pioneer in the field of pulsed lasers. In recognition of her research on the practical implementation of chirped pulse amplification, she was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, together with Gérard Mourou. She is currently a professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. 

Equipped with a PhD in astronomy, Hugh Ross had been a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. However, he later focused on studying the link between scientific discoveries and their biblical explanations, and formed the ministry Reasons to Believe. He has written books, hosted podcasts, and attended events, speaking about progressive creationism.

Known as “The Poet of the Stars,” Canadian astrophysicist Hubert Reeves has been a NASA advisor. His research covers neutrinos and thermonuclear reactions in stars. Having penned numerous science and astronomy books such as Soleil, he is known as a popularizer of science and has an asteroid named after him.

Iranian-origin American-Canadian theoretical physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed is known for his studies on the link between theory and experiment, with special focus on topics such as string theory, quantum field theory, and cosmology. He has also taught at prestigious institutes such as Cornell and Harvard and has won awards such as the Sackler Prize.

Argentine-Canadian philosopher, physicist, and educator Mario Bunge is best remembered for his work on social sciences, metaphysics, and the philosophy of the mind. Part of the school of scientific realism, he had published more than 400 papers and was named to Science magazine’s Science Hall of Fame.

Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist and Stanford professor Richard E. Taylor is best remembered for revolutionizing particle physics by discovering quarks, which make up matter. He was also associated with the designing of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Ursula Franklin was a German-Canadian research physicist, metallurgist, educator, and author. She is best remembered for her association with the University of Toronto, where she taught for more than 40 years. Ursula Franklin was also renowned for her work in promoting human rights, for which she received the prestigious Pearson Medal of Peace.

Willard Boyle revolutionized physics with the invention of the charge-coupled device (CCD), which also earned him, and his co-inventor George E. Smith, a Nobel Prize. During his time at Bellcomm, he was associated with the Apollo space program. Both he and Smith worked for Bell Laboratories, too.

German-Canadian physicist Gerhard Herzberg is remembered for his Nobel Prize-winning work on ascertaining the electronic structure of molecules, particularly free radicals. He had escaped to Canada following the rise of the Nazis and later also worked in the U.S. His doctoral students included Japanese chemist Takeshi Oka.

Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist Bertram Brockhouse is best remembered for his research on neutron-scattering techniques. He also invented the neutron spectrometer and became one of the first to calculate the phonon dispersion curve of a solid. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society for his contribution to science.

Physicist Arthur Jeffrey Dempster is credited with the invention of the first mass spectrometer, which is used to measure the quantities of charged particles. He was also the man behind the discovery of uranium-235, an isotope used in atom bombs, and was associated with the Manhattan Project, too.

A pioneer of modern heavy ion physics, nuclear physicist and Yale professor D. Allan Bromley had received more than 30 honorary doctorates and won the National Medal of Science. As the science and technology advisor to President George H. W. Bush, he became the first to hold such a position.

Born to a Canadian physician in Wales, John Savage followed in his father’s footsteps to study medicine. He later gained the name "hippie doctor" for his beard and unconventional treatments. He later led the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and also became the Premier of Nova Scotia.

Though physicist Robert Pound was a major part of the discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), he missed out on the Nobel Prize for the discovery due to the restrictions on the upper limit of recipients. The Harvard professor and National Medal of Science winner also designed the Pound–Rebka experiment.