Melanie Martin, Chair of the Liaison Committee
(term ends June 2028)
Dr. Melanie Martin is a medical physicist with a highly interdisciplinary research program using physics, computer science, and chemistry techniques to solve a large variety of problems in biology, and neuroscience. She is a Professor of Physics at The University of Winnipeg, the co-director of The University of Winnipeg Brain and Metabolic Research Lab, and the Acting Associate Dean of Science at The University of Winnipeg. Melanie is a strong supporter and advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Kimberley Hall, Quantum and Soft Condensed Matter Physics
(term ends 2027)
Kimberley Hall is a Professor of Physics and the Director of the Ultrafast Quantum Control Group at Dalhousie University. Dr. Hall received a Ph. D. in physics from the University of Toronto in 2002 and carried out postdoctoral work at the University of Iowa prior to joining Dalhousie University in 2004. She held the Canada Research Chair in Ultrafast Science from 2007 to 2017, currently holds the George Munro Chair in Physics and is a recent recipient of the Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship. Her current research interests include the development of solid-state sources of quantum light, the implementation of optimal quantum control in semiconductor qubit systems, the study of spin transport in two-dimensional semiconducting quantum materials, and the advancement of perovskite-based photovoltaics.
Johnathan Burchill, Near-Earth and Space Physics
(term ends June 2029)
bio to come
Nassim Bozorgnia, Subatomic Physics
(term ends June 2027)
Nassim Bozorgnia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta and a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Astroparticle Physics. Her research focuses on theoretical astroparticle physics and dark matter phenomenology. The long-term goal of her research is to determine the particle nature of dark matter, through its distinct signatures on the Galactic dark matter distribution. She uses the results of state-of-the-art cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and recent observational data to study the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way, and explore its implications for dark matter searches. She obtained her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2012 and has held postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, the GRAPPA Institute at the University of Amsterdam, and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology at Durham University. She was an Assistant Professor at York University from 2020 to 2022 before joining the University of Alberta.
Mohammad Ahmady, Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
(term ends June 2028)
Mohammad Ahmady is a Professor of Physics at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, where he has taught since 2001.
Specializing in theoretical particle physics, his research focuses on the Standard Model, heavy quarks, strong interactions, and phenomenological applications of holographic QCD and light-front dynamics to meson properties, form factors, and rare B decays. He has authored or co-authored over 140 publications, with more than 1,100 citations.
Ahmady earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Western Ontario, after completing his B.Sc. in Physics at Shiraz University in Iran. He conducted postdoctoral research at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy, Ochanomizu University in Japan, and RIKEN as a JSPS Fellow.
Tsuneyuki Ozaki, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Optics and Lasers, and Plasmas
(term ends 2029)
Tsuneyuki Ozaki is a Professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications (INRS-EMT), where he has been a faculty member since 2003. His research focuses on ultrafast laser science and technology, high-intensity laser–matter interaction, high-order harmonics and extreme-ultraviolet generation, terahertz science, and applications of femtosecond lasers in materials, biology, medicine, and environmental science. He has trained numerous graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows, with whom he has co-authored many publications and patents, and has delivered numerous invited talks. He has also contributed extensively to the Canadian and international physics communities, including service as Co-Chair of the NSERC Discovery Grant committee, Chair of IUPAP Commission C17 on Laser Physics and Photonics, and the International Committee on Ultra-high Intensity Lasers (ICUIL), where he currently serves as Chair. At the INRS, he served as Director of the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS) from 2006 to 2012, and as the directeur de programme (program director) for the master’s and PhD programs in energy and materials sciences at the INRS from 2009 to 2020.
David Fleming, Biomedical and Biological Physics
(term ends 2028)
David Fleming is a Professor of Physics at Mount Allison University. He completed his Ph.D. in Medical Physics at McMaster University. David began his faculty career at the University of Vermont in the Department of Biomedical Technologies. From 2002-2012, he held the Canada Research Chair in X-ray Fluorescence Medical Physics at Mount Allison. David served as External Examiner with the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology at the University of Nairobi from 2017-2019, was Secretary of the International Society for Trace Element Research in Humans from 2019-2024, and is currently an Editor with the journal Applied Radiation and Isotopes.
Levon Pogosian, Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
(term ends 2029)
Levon Pogosian received his PhD from Case Western Reserve University and was a research fellow at Imperial College London, Tufts University, and Syracuse University before joining Simon Fraser University, where is Professor and Physics Department Chair. He is a theoretical cosmologist working on a broad range of topics that can be collectively described as using cosmological observations to test fundamental physics.
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
NSERC REPRESENTATIVES
Kevin Lapointe, Manager of Physics and Astronomy within the Discovery Research and Recognition’s Division of NSERC’s Research Grants and Scholarships Directorate.
Sarah Overington, Director of the Discovery Research and Recognition Division within NSERC’s Research Grants and Scholarships Directorate.
Catherine Harrison, Program Officer for physics within the Discovery Research and Recognition’s Division of NSERC’s Research Grants and Scholarships Directorate.
Dominique Maillet, Manager, Manufacturing, Communications and Technologies Division, Research and Technology Partnerships Directorate.
Christopher Homes
Christopher Homes, Group Chair of NSERC’s Physics Evaluation Group
Christopher Homes is a Senior Physicist in the Electronic Structure Techniques Group at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, New York. After obtaining his B.Sc. (Hons.) from McMaster University, Chris completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics at the University of British Columbia in 1990. Following postdoctoral fellowships at McMaster University and Simon Fraser University, he joined BNL in 1996 in the Department of Physics, eventually moving to the NSLS II in 2021. With over 170 publications, his research focuses on the optical properties of solids using laboratory and synchrotron sources, specifically correlated electron systems, with special attention on emergent properties such as superconductivity in the copper-oxide and iron-based materials, as well as the Dirac and Weyl semimetals, and more recently, colossal magnetoresistance materials. Chris was a member of the NSERC Physics Evaluation Group (2021 – 2025), acting as a Section Chair for Quantum and Condensed Matter Physics (2022 – 2025) and is currently serving as the Group Chair. A recipient of the Brookhaven Science and Technology Award, Chris is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
CAP REPRESENTATIVES
Chitra Rangan, Director of Academic Affairs, Canadian Association of Physicists
Francine Ford, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Physicists
Previous Liaison Committee Chairs (since the Committee was restructured in 2014)
- June 2022-June 2025 : Sjoerd Roorda, Université de Montréal
- June 2017-June 2022 : Rituparna Kanungo, St.Mary’s U./TRIUMF
- June 2014-June 2017 : William Whelan, UPEI
- June 2013-June 2014 : John Dutcher, U. of Guelph
