September 26, 2005 Source: Carleton University:
http://www.carleton.ca/duc/News/news09260501.html Carleton U. Adjunct Professor Wins Career Achievement Award from Ottawa Life Sciences Council (Ottawa)--Carleton University Adjunct Professor of Physics, Dr. G. Peter Raaphorst, has won the Ottawa Life Sciences Council (OLSC) Career Achievement award. The announcement was made this evening at the 12th Annual OLSC Achievement Awards Dinner. Dr. Raaphorst retired as Head of Medical Physics at The Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre this summer. He has been an Adjunct Professor at Carleton since 1985. "Not only has Dr. Raaphorst made significant contributions to the fields of radiobiology, medical physics, and radiation oncology ," says Carleton colleague and chair of the Physics Department, Dr. Paul Johns, "but he has also played a central role here at Carleton University in turning a fledgling medical physics graduate program into one of the largest and most dynamic programs in the country." As founding director of what is now the Ottawa Medical Physics Institute (OMPI), Dr. Raaphorst laid the groundwork for what has become one of the leading medical physics graduate programs in Canada. OMPI brings together approximately 30 research-oriented medical physicists in the Ottawa area including those at Carleton University. Over 50 Physics M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in the area of medical physics have been completed since its beginnings. Currently there are 22 graduate students, making the Carleton University medical physics program a significant one in the country. "I am particularly proud of having supervised 15 Carleton graduate students as I believe in the importance of mentoring our young people," says Dr. Raaphorst. "Carleton's physics department has a full academic curriculum in Medical Physics, including radiotherapy and imaging physics as well as biophysics, and it provides an excellent education for students in this field." Ruth Wilkins, a former Carleton graduate student and now a Research Scientist with Health Canada, says: "Peter was an excellent supervisor. He gave his graduate students enough direction to get started on things, enough freedom to make their own mistakes, and enough support to get back on track. Doing a Ph.D. with Peter prepared me well for the real world of scientific research." During his incredibly productive research career, Dr. Raaphorst has published an impressive 242 articles in peer-reviewed journals. In 20 years of research at the Cancer Centre in Ottawa, he was Principal Investigator on 43 grants, with a total value of $3.46 million and co-investigator on another seven grants totaling over half a million dollars. The OLSC hands out five Awards annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to Ottawa's emerging life sciences sector. Since their inception in 1994, 52 outstanding individuals and companies have been honoured by their peers. They include the "who's who" of Ottawa's R&D and business community. The Career Achievement Award is sponsored by Smart & Biggar. The Physics Department at Carleton University is a vibrant participant at the forefront of research in medical physics and is also internationally renowned for its research in particle physics. It boasts three Canada Research Chairs including David Rogers, Canada Research Chair in Medical Physics. The University is home to the Ottawa Medical Physics Institute (OMPI) which is an Organized Research Unit. Many of the off-campus medical physicists associated with OMPI have adjunct professor appointments to Carleton's Department of Physics. Carleton graduates have been hired to do clinical work around the world, and are also employed by industry, academia, and in government research and regulatory positions. -30- For more information:
Dr. Peter Raaphorst
Adjunct Professor of Physics
Carleton University
613-752-0327
mpaoo@xplornet.com Dr. Paul Johns
Professor and Chair
Department of Physics
Carleton University
613-520-2600 ext. 4317
johns@physics.carleton.ca Lin Moody
Media Relations
Carleton University
613-520-2600 ext. 8705
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