Albéric Boivin (February 11, 1919 in Baie-St-Paul, Quebec — August 8, 1991 in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

)Alberic Boivin
by Fernand Bonenfant,in ''

Physics Today ''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. ...

''; 45, 11, 107 (1992); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2809893 was a Canadian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

known for his work in

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

Early life

Boivin began his studies at

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

in 1940; in 1944, he became one of the university's first four graduates in physics,Fifty-five years of optics as a teaching and research domain at Laval University
by , in the proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics; edited by J. Javier Sánchez-Mondragán; at SPIE.org and began teaching that year. He subsequently earned his master's degree there in 1949, and became a full professor in 1955. He earned his doctorate in 1960.

Professional achievements

Boivin's work in optics drew other researchers to him, and in the 1960s he established the Laboratoire d'Optique et Hyperfrequences, which subsequently became the Laboratoire de Recherches en Optique et Laser, and later the Centre d'Optique, Photonique et Laser; this has been cited as a "determining factor" in the Canadian government's decision to establish the

Institut National d'Optique The National Optics Institute (INO) is a Quebec City-based private non-profit corporation founded in 1988. INO is a technological design and development firm that deals in optics and photonics for SMEs and large corporations in Canada and around ...

in Quebec City. He also launched Université Laval's

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

program, and was a founding member of the Canadian Astronomical Society.ALBERIC BOIVIN 1919-1991
by Fernand Bonenfant and Jean-René Roy in ''Cassiopeia'', no. 73 (Winter Solstice issue), 1991; at the Canadian Astronomical Society His students included ,Roger A. Lessard (1944 – 2007)
at

Ordre National du Québec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (National ...

; retrieved March 7, 2020 and he collaborated with Emil Wolf on "a paper on the field structure about the focus of a wide-aperture aplanatic system".

Recognition

Boivin was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

in 1962,Alberic Boivin
at the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation; retrieved March 7, 2020 and won the 1967 Léo-Pariseau Prize.Prix Acfas Léo-Pariseau
at ACFAS; retrieved March 7, 2020 In 1969, he served as vice-president of 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, sp ...

. In 1978, he was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boivin, Alberic Canadian physicists Université Laval alumni Academic staff of Université Laval Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada 1919 births 1991 deaths