Abbreviation | CAP / ACP |
---|---|
Formation | 1945 |
Type | Professional association |
Purpose | Scientific outreach |
Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Region served
|
Canada |
Membership
|
~1,600 |
Official language
|
English, French |
President
|
Kenneth Ragan (McGill University) |
Website | http://www.cap.ca |
The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), or in French Association canadienne des physiciens et physiciennes (ACP) is a Canadian professional society that focuses on creating awareness amongst Canadians and Canadian legislators of physics issues, sponsoring physics related events, physics outreach, and publishes Physics in Canada. The organization was founded in 1945 and currently has over 1,600 members. CAP is bilingual and functions in both English and French.
Physics in Canada / La Physique au Canada (PiC-PaC) is a bi-monthly journal published by the CAP. The aim of this journal contains scientific articles in both official languages, book reviews, job listings and many other items that may be important to Canadian Physicists.
The CAP can appoint an official designation called the P. Phys. which stands for Professional Physicist, similar to the designation of P. Eng. which stands for Professional Engineer. This designation was unveiled at the CAP congress in 1999 and already more than 200 people carry this distinction.
The Canadian Association of Physics hosts several CAP physics contests across Canada each year, aimed at different levels of physics students. The CAP High School Prize exam is offered across Canada once a year, usually in early April, and aims to challenge physics students on their physics knowledge. It is a national exam and the top participants are invited to try out for the Canadian Physics Olympiad international team trained by volunteers from the University of British Columbia.
The CAP Lloyd G. Elliott Prize exam, also known as the "University Prize Exam", is offered once a year, usually early February, to Canadian university undergraduate physics students. The CAP Best Student Presentation competition is held during the CAP's annual congress. The CAP awards prizes to the physics students, normally at the graduate level, who make the three best oral presentations and the three physics students who make the three best poster presentations.