Memorial Prizes

David Richard Davis 
1945 - 1966 
StFX. Class of 1967

David Richard Davis was born and raised in Lewiston, Maine. He was active in outdoor activities, particularly hiking and mountain climbing. He enjoyed building electrical and mechanical devices. He came to StFX in 1963 to study physics. During the summer of 1966 after his third year of study, he worked in the Physics Department for Father Clarke. At the end of the summer, he was on his way home for a short visit before classes started when he was killed in a car accident. The David Davis prizes for first- and third-year physics were established by his parents and uncle and were awarded for the first time in 1982.

Winners to Date

Charles Edward Jordan
1932 - 1970  
B.Sc. Physics, StFX 1952  
M.Sc. Physics, McMaster 1956

Charles Jordan was an American who came to StFX in 1948 to study Physics. While a student here he worked with Father Clarke as a research assistant and lab demonstrator. He designed and built a control board for the lights and curtains in the StFX Auditorium. Upon completion of his graduate degree, Charles returned to New England to work as a microwave antenna design engineer for the Raytheon Company in Bedford, Massachusetts. He was married in 1956 and had three daughters. He died in 1970 at the age of 38. The Charles Jordan Prize was established in his memory by his mother, Mrs. David W. Jordan, and the first prize was awarded in 1981. 

Winners to Date

David Richard Davis
1945 - 1966 
StFX. Class of 1967

David Richard Davis was born and raised in Lewiston, Maine. He was active in outdoor activities, particularly hiking and mountain climbing. He enjoyed building electrical and mechanical devices. He came to StFX in 1963 to study physics. During the summer of 1966 after his third year of study, he worked in the Physics Department for Father Clarke. At the end of the summer, he was on his way home for a short visit before classes started when he was killed in a car accident. The David Davis prizes for first- and third-year physics were established by his parents and uncle and were awarded for the first time in 1982. 

Winners to Date 

Dr. M. S. Gautam 
1931 -1973  
B.Sc., M.Sc. Agra University, India  
Ph.D. 1966, U.B.C.  

Dr. Gautam was born and raised in India, and after completing his M.Sc. at Agra University remained there as a lecturer for several years. He came to Canada and completed his Ph.D. in plasma physics at U.B.C. in 1966, the same year he joined the St.F.X. Physics Department. He and Dr. Y. N. Joshi established the research laboratory in atomic spectroscopy at St.F.X. They were active research collaborators until Dr. Gautam's tragic death in a highway accident which occurred while he was returning from a research field trip to U.N.B. The Gautam Prize was established in 1980 by his wife. It is awarded to the Honours Physics graduate with the highest average (over 80%) in the senior year.

Winners to Date

Dr. B. Wallbank 
1949-2008  
B.Sc. 1970, Lanchester Polytechnic, U.K.  
M.Sc. 1971, Essex University, U.K.  
Ph.D. 1974, Liverpool University, U.K.  

Dr. Tony Weingartshofer
1925-2017
D.Sc. 1955, Université Laval
Member of the Department 1954 - 1988

The Wallbank-Weingartshofer Prize for Experimental Physics is awarded to a graduating student in physics who, in the judgment of the faculty of the StFX Physics Department, has shown particular aptitude for experimental physics. The value of the prize is $500. The winner of the prize is announced at convocation.  

The department uses the following criteria in determining the prize recipient:  

1. Experimental skill and aptitude as demonstrated in research in the department as well as in the laboratories associated with course work.  
2. Students in joint degrees with Physics as "Science A" are eligible.  
3. The winner is not determined on the basis of course grades, but instead, in the judgment of the department, on the basis of a demonstrated particular flair and skill for experimental physics.  
4. If the department decides that no student meets the criteria in a particular year, the award will not be given.  
5. No application on the part of the student is necessary.  

Dr. Denise Wallbank has generously set up the prize to be given in honour of her late husband, Dr. Barry Wallbank, and also to recognize the contribution that Dr. Tony Weingartshofer made to the StFX Physics Department and the physics community.  

Winners to Date

Dr. Y. Joshi 
1938-2008  
M.Sc. 1959, Punjab University, India  
Ph.D. 1964, University of British Columbia 

The Yogi Joshi Prize for Excellence in Physics is to be awarded annually to a StFX B.Sc. physics student at the end of the student's second, third or fourth year of study. Consideration will be given to academic performance, participation in undergraduate research, and community service, as these were areas about which Dr. Joshi was passionate and which characterized his life at StFX.  

Winners to Date