Robert Boyd, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Nonlinear Optics at the University of Ottawa, has been selected as the winner of the 2016 Charles Hard Townes Award by the Optical Society of America.
The award—named after the man whose research and creativity led to the development of modern lasers, and who taught Boyd when he was a graduate student—recognizes Boyd’s “fundamental contributions to the field of nonlinear optics, including the development of methods for controlling the velocity of light, of quantum imaging methods and of composite nonlinear optical materials.”
Just recently, Boyd also won the Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, named for another pioneer in the development of laser technologies.
The Schawlow-Townes Symposium on Photonics, a yearly event at the University of Ottawa, is organized in honour of these brilliant figures, attracting leading Canadian and international researchers in the field of photonics.