WATERLOO, Ontario, Canada, September 18, 2008 - Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is pleased to congratulate two of its Associate Faculty members on their recent election as Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada.

Cliff Burgess, Associate Faculty member (PI) and Professor of Physics and Astronomy (McMaster University), and Raymond Laflamme, Associate Faculty member (PI) and Director of the Institute for Quantum Computing (University of Waterloo), are two of 74 distinguished scholars accepted into the society this year.  Election to RSC (est. 1882) is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences in Canada.

Upon hearing the announcement, Rob Myers, PI's Interim Scientific Director and himself a Fellow of the Royal Society (2006) noted, “This is a well-deserved honour for both Cliff and Ray. They are both outstanding scientists, as well as terrific colleagues for all of us here at Perimeter. I am happy to extend hearty congratulations to both on behalf of everyone at Perimeter.”

Cliff Burgess has made an impact over an unusually broad range of fields in theoretical physics. His contributions span superstring theory, early universe cosmology, particle phenomenology, astrophysics and condensed matter physics. His innovative constructions of cosmological inflation based on string theory opened new areas of research and have brought string theory to the stage where it may be tested by experimental observations. The RSC Fellowship follows numerous other awards including the Killam Research Fellowship in March 2005.

Ray Laflamme has solved both practical and theoretical problems of fundamental importance to quantum information processing, and has been a leader in bringing Canada to international prominence in this field. Amongst his most important theoretical results was inventing, with Knill and Milburn, a radically new approach to quantum computing using linear optics. Using NMR techniques, his experimental group at IQC holds the world record for the largest quantum computer achieved to date. This announcement is preceded by a distinguished list of awards and recognitions for Ray, including a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Quantum Information.

Cliff and Ray will be formally inducted at a ceremony to be held Saturday, November 15, 2008 in Ottawa.

About PI
Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, non-profit, scientific research and educational outreach organization where international scientists cluster to push the limits of our understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter and information.  The award-winning research centre provides a multi-disciplinary environment to foster research in areas of Cosmology, Particle Physics, Quantum Foundations, Quantum Gravity, Quantum Information, Superstring Theory, and related areas.  The Institute, located in Waterloo, Ontario, also provides a wide array of educational outreach activities for students, teachers and members of the general public in order to share the joy of scientific research, discovery and innovation. In partnership with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, Perimeter Institute continues to be a successful example of private and public collaboration in science research and education. 

About the Royal Society of Canada
The Society is a national organization comprised of Canadian scientists and scholars who have been selected for outstanding contributions in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science.  More information can be found on the Society’s homepage at http://www.rsc.ca/.

 
Cliff Burgess

Ray Laflamme