Boris P. Stoicheff, , (June 1, 1924 – April 15, 2010) was a

Macedonian Canadian Macedonian Canadians ( mk, Македонски Канаѓани) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Macedonians (ethnic group), ethnic Macedonian descent or North Macedonia, Macedonian-born people who reside in Canada. According to the Canada ...

physicist. Stoicheff was born in

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

, in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

(present-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

). His family emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

1931, and he grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He earned a degree in Engineering Physics from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1947, and a PhD from the same institution in 1950. He stayed for another year at Toronto on a fellowship, then went to the

National Research Council (Canada) The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research and development, research & development. It is the ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

to work as a

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

er in the

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

laboratory headed by

Gerhard Herzberg Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, (; December 25, 1904 – March 3, 1999) was a German-Canadian pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge o ...

, where he worked on

Raman scattering Raman scattering or the Raman effect () is the inelastic scattering of photons by matter, meaning that there is both an exchange of energy and a change in the light's direction. Typically this effect involves vibrational energy being gained by a ...

. In 1953 he was promoted at the

to a permanent research position. Stoicheff became well known for his

Raman spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy () (named after Indian physicist C. V. Raman) is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Raman sp ...

through the 1950s, publishing a number of previously unavailable high-resolution molecular spectra. In 1954, he married his wife Joan, and they had a son, Peter Stoicheff, in 1956 (who would go on to become the President of the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

). In the late 1950s, he became interested in

Brillouin scattering Brillouin scattering (also known as Brillouin light scattering or BLS), named after Léon Brillouin, refers to the interaction of light with the material waves in a medium (e.g. electrostriction and magnetostriction). It is mediated by the refractiv ...

, and attempted to build a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

, though

Theodore Maiman Theodore Harold Maiman (July 11, 1927 – May 5, 2007) was an American engineer and physicist who is widely credited with the invention of the laser.Johnson, John Jr. (May 11, 2008). "Theodore H. Maiman, at age 32; scientist created the first LA ...

succeeded in doing so first. Stoicheff nonetheless soon built the first laser in Canada, and researched using it for spectroscopy. He spent a sabbatical year in 1963 at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

, working with

Charles Townes Charles Hard Townes (July 28, 1915 – January 27, 2015) was an American physicist. Townes worked on the theory and application of the maser, for which he obtained the fundamental patent, and other work in quantum electronics associated wi ...

and some of Townes's graduate students on the same subject, and in 1964 took a professorship at the University of Toronto. In the late 1970s he changed focus from Brillouin spectroscopy to Rydberg spectroscopy. He retired in 1989, though continued to perform research. By 2000, he was working on the origin of

diffuse interstellar band Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are absorption features seen in the spectra of astronomical objects in the Milky Way and other galaxies. They are caused by the absorption of light by the interstellar medium. Circa 500 bands have now been seen ...

Honors and awards

He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1975. He served as president of the

Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

in 1976 and was awarded their

William F. Meggers Award The William F. Meggers Award has been awarded annually since 1970 by the Optical Society (originally called the Optical Society of America) for outstanding contributions to spectroscopy. Recipients Source: See also * List of physics awards Thi ...

in 1981 and their

Frederic Ives Medal The Frederic Ives Medal is the highest award of the Optical Society, recognizing overall distinction in optics. The prize was established in 1928 by Herbert E. Ives in honor of his father, Frederic Ives. Initially awarded every two years, it has bee ...

in 1983. He also received the

Henry Marshall Tory Medal The Henry Marshall Tory Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada "for outstanding research in a branch of astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, physics, or an allied science". It is named in honour of Henry Marshall Tory and is awarded bi-annu ...

, in 1989.

Tributes

Since 2011, the Optical Society of America and the

Canadian Association of Physicists 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 among Canadians and Canadian legislators of physics issues, spo ...

sponsors a scholarship in his name that is awarded annually to an undergraduate or graduate student who has demonstrated both research excellence and significant service in either professional organizations.

References

External links

Articles Published by early OSA Presidents
Journal of the Optical Society of America
Fascination with light led scientist to build and operate Canada's first laser
Toronto Globe and Mail, 17 May 2010
Obituary
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoicheff, Boris P. 1924 births 2010 deaths Yugoslav emigrants to Canada University of Toronto alumni Presidents of Optica (society) Canadian physicists Macedonian physicists University of Toronto faculty Canadian people of Macedonian descent Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the American Physical Society Optical physicists Presidents of the Canadian Association of Physicists