Dr. Rituparna Kanungo
In recognition of her contributions to experimental subatomic physics and groundbreaking discoveries in rare isotopes and nuclear shells; leadership of international collaborations in Japan, Germany, and Canada's TRIUMF, and service to national and international organizations, Saint Mary’s University physicist Dr. Rituparna (Ritu) Kanungo has been named as a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP).
As a member of the 2024 cohort of this new program, Dr. Kanungo will join nine physicist peers in the previous cohort who have made significant contributions to the Canadian physics community. Launched in 2022, the CAP Fellows program’s inaugural fellowships were awarded to Canadian Nobel Laureates Dr. Art McDonald and Dr. Donna Strickland.
Successful Fellowship candidates demonstrate service to the CAP, including physics outreach. They must demonstrate that their body of work shows noteworthy contributions to research and development in Canada, as well as contributions to the professional practice of physics, applied and private sector physics. Educational activities or mentorship round out a successful nomination.
“I am deeply honoured with this national recognition from CAP, and I share that with my team of students, postdocs and collaborators,” says Dr. Kanungo. “This honour brings reward for the efforts of my team and an encouragement for the younger team members to see that the work we are doing is broadly valued. I hope that it brings institutional pride to the SMU community to have our researchers highly recognized at a national level. It also shows the internationally competitive reach for SMU students.”
A leader in nuclear physics, Dr. Kanungo’s research explores rare isotopes in nature to unveil the secrets in the core of visible matter in our universe.
“Accessing the short-lived rare isotopes in our labs is extremely challenging,” she explains. “Since only a few specialized accelerator facilities in the world have gained the capacity to produce them, accessing these facilities is highly competitive internationally and being able to lead experiments in them is truly a rewarding feat.”
Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President Research at Saint Mary’s University, expressed his pride at having a SMU physicist recognized with this Fellowship, given his own past connection to CAP.
“Having previously served as President of the Canadian Association of Physicists, I am delighted to see that CAP has developed their national Fellowship program to bring public attention to the important contribution that physicists are making to science overall, and Canadian society specifically,” said Dr. Sarty. “Dr. Kanungo’s contributions to basic nuclear science and her leadership in the Canadian physics research community are truly significant. I am very proud that Dr. Kanungo received this honour and is joining a highly distinguished group of Canadian physicists.”
Along with her own research, Dr. Kanungo’s students benefit from access to accelerator facilities. The projects she leads as the principal investigator (PI) give students exposure, access and scientific scope at the international front line, leading to thesis projects for graduate and undergraduate honours students. At the TRIUMF research facility in British Columbia, Dr. Kanungo’s students have extensive hands-on access to her beamline IRIS facility.
“I am very thankful to my international peers for the high value they have placed on my research activities,” says Dr. Kanungo. “Even more gratifying is to be able to open this access to the students and postdocs, providing work conditions and opportunities that only very few in the world can experience.”
Dr. Kanungo has led international collaborations in Japan, Germany, and Canada's TRIUMF. In recent years, she was named an American Physical Society (APS) Fellow and received the CAP-TRIUMF Vogt medal. She has given 93 invited talks globally and authored over 100 publications.
About the Canadian Association of Physicists
The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is the voice of Canadian physics. The CAP is dedicated to highlighting achievements in Canadian physics and pursuing scientific, educational, public policy and communication initiatives that enhance the vitality of physics and physicists in Canada. The CAP represents more than 1,700 physicists working in academia, government and industry. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1945.