French physicist wins NRC awards

Ottawa, ON April 7, 2003 French physicist Dr Marek Potemski has won the prestigious Herzberg Memorial Prize and Fellowship.

He received his award on March 27 at a ceremony held at the National Research Council Institute for Microstructural Sciences (NRC-IMS) in Ottawa. Dr Arthur Carty, NRC president, members of the NRC-IMS Advisory Board and colleagues attended the welcoming ceremony. The award consists of a $25,000 prize and a $100,000 one-year fellowship tenable at one of NRC’s Institutes.

Dr Potemski, a research director at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and head of the semiconductor group at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Grenoble, France, is an innovative physicist recognized for his work in semiconductor nanostructures. He is the author of more than 150 publications, including nine in the Physical Review Letters, and co-editor of Optical Properties of Semiconductor Nanostructures. Dr Potemski has also held positions on several committees including director, NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Optical Properties of Semiconductor Nanostructures, 1999 (Warsaw, Poland).

“It is a great pleasure to invite Dr Potemski to join NRC’s team of world-class scientists and researchers,” said Dr Carty. “NRC strives to bring the best and the brightest minds the world has to offer to our facilities, fostering new opportunities in science and innovation and strengthening Canada’s national research and development capacity.”

The NRC Herzberg Memorial Prize and Fellowship is an international award that commemorates the late Dr Gerhard Herzberg, NRC scientist and Nobel laureate known worldwide as the “Father of Modern Molecular Spectroscopy’. It is conferred annually upon a researcher who has distinguished himself or herself through many years of outstanding achievements in a field relevant to NRC’s programs.

“Dr Potemski’s expertise in nanostructures makes him an ideal collaborator for NRC-IMS scientists working in the area of quantum behaviour,” said Dr Richard Normandin, director general of the NRC Institute for Microstructural Sciences. “We welcome his contribution and look forward to seeing the results of our partnership over the coming year.”

Scientists at the NRC-IMS have established a working relationship with Dr Potemski and his group in France which has already proven to be beneficial for both organizations in the fields of nanostructures, spintronics and quantum dot.

With competencies in optoelectronics, photonics, semiconductors, thin film technologies, nanotechnology and acoustics, NRC-IMS studies and develops novel materials, devices and processes to be used by the Canadian high tech sectors in the creation of next generation hardware.