UWindsor professor Gordon Drake has been recognized for his role in bringing physics to the non-scientific community and for his tireless efforts to see increased research funding for the discipline.

Dr. Drake will receive the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists 2015 Peter Kirkby Memorial Medal for Outstanding Service to Canadian Physics at the association’s congress, June 18.

Drake, who has been a UWindsor faculty member since 1969, also won recognition for his efforts to promote Canadian physics through his participation or leadership in numerous international and Canadian physics organizations throughout his career. He is noted for mentoring generations of both Canadian students and junior faculty and has made physics an attractive career choice for many.

“Service to the profession of physicist is the single most important thing that the CAP does, and the Kirkby Medal is the highest form of recognition for contributions to this objective,” says Drake. “I feel deeply honoured to be selected to receive the Kirkby Medal for 2015. My contributions have not only brought me great personal satisfaction, but also brought me many friends from amongst the most interesting people in Canada.”

Drake holds the title of University Professor; he is world-renowned as a theoretical atomic physicist and as the leader in the field of high-precision calculations of atomic properties.

Among the many honours and awards that he has received are the CAP Herzberg Medal; the NSERC Steacie Prize; the Killiam Fellowship; the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship; and the CAP Medal for Achievement in Physics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Physical Society and serves as editor of the journal Physical Review A and as principal of Canterbury College.

The Canadian Association of Physicists, founded in 1945, is a professional association representing over 1600 individual physicists and physics students in Canada, the U.S. and overseas, as well as a number of corporate, institutional, and departmental members. In addition to its learned activities, the association also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists is a scientific and professional organization composed of over 700 medical physicists and graduate students working in the areas of medical imaging, cancer therapy, and medical biophysics, plus corporate members who are involved in these areas.