Recently, the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute was a platinum sponsor of the 2021 Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference (CUPC 2021), which ran from November 4 – 7, 2021. We are proud of the support we were able to offer to his important effort to amplify and engage with the work of undergraduate physics students and connect them with pathways to graduate studies in quantum materials. We are also grateful for the support of Ken Wong, Jisun Kim, Bruce Davidson, Giorgio Levy, and graduate student Rafael Haenel, who represented Blusson QMI at the conference.

Congratulations to Julie Belleville (PI: Jeff Young and Lukas Chrostowski), who won an award for best student presentation in the Solid State/Quantum Physics category, and to Stephen Cashen (PI: Lukas Chrostowski and Jeff Young), who won an award for best student presentation in the Applied/Engineering Physics category.

Related: Watch Blusson QMI’s 2021 Summer Undergraduate Talks

“Being relatively new to Blusson QMI, I hadn’t had the occasion to represent the institute before, and being involved in CUPC 2021 was my first opportunity to interact directly with undergrad students,” said Wong, Research Program Manager, who participated in the networking event with Levy and Haenel. “Talking to physics students about their research was really fun, and I would have loved to have an event like this when I was a student!”

“Participating in CUPC 2021 was very rewarding,” said Kim, Research Associate, who was a judge in the student presentation competition. “I could see that the students were well prepared and professional, and the quality of their presentations was very high. It was worth it to participate, and I would encourage other members of the Blusson QMI community to take these opportunities as they arise.”

“The highlight for me was the students’ excitement, and the chance to get a pulse for what undergraduate physics students are doing,” said Davidson, Research Associate. “Helen Melino and Neha Nasir, the CUPC 2021 conference organizers, did an incredible job of pulling it all together and making this a rewarding event for students and those of us who participated as presenters, judges, and guests.”

In addition, Haenel gave a presentation about Blusson QMI that was well received.

We thank everyone involved for sharing their time and representing Blusson QMI on this national stage.