Article

Boris Peter Stoicheff

Boris Peter Stoicheff, OC, FRS, FRSC, physics professor (born 1 June 1924 in Bitola, Yugoslavia; died 15 April 2010 in Toronto, ON). A specialist in spectroscopy, laser physics and nonlinear optics, Stoicheff is known for his innovative use of lasers.

Boris Peter Stoicheff
University of Toronto physics professor Boris Peter Stoicheff with graduate student Bob McCaren, 20 July 1970.
(Harold Barkely/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Career

After receiving a PhD from University of Toronto in 1950 Boris P. Stoicheff joined the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in 1951. In 1964 he joined the physics department at the University of Toronto and was chairman of engineering science 1972-77. He retired in 1989.

Stoicheff was president of the Optical Society of America in 1976, a member of the council of the NRC 1977-80 and 1981-83, and president of the Canadian Association of Physicists 1983-84.

Publications

Over 100 of Boris P. Stoicheff’s articles in scientific journals discuss light, spectroscopy, molecular structures and lasers in relation to physics. Stoicheff is also recognized for publishing Gerhard Herzberg: An Illustrious Life in Science (2002). This publication is a detailed biography of Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg, who was Stoicheff’s mentor at the NRC. (See also Nobel Prizes and Canada.)

Honours and Awards

Boris P. Stoicheff was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) (1965), honorary fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (1971) and fellow of the Royal Society (1975). He received the Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America (1983), the Gold Medal of the Canadian Association of Physicists (1974), and the Henry Marshall Tory Medal of the RSC (1989). Stoicheff was also appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada (1982).

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Further Reading

  • Henry M. van Driel, “Boris Peter Stoicheff. 1 June 1924-15 April 2010,” Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society vol. 66 (June 2019).

  • William Illsey Atkinson, “Fascination with light led scientist to build and operate Canada’s first laser,” The Globe and Mail (17 May 2010).

  • H.M. Van Driel and A.D. May, “Boris P. Stoicheff: A tribute on the occasion of his 75th birthday,” Canadian Journal of Physics vol. 78, iss. 5-6 (Apil 2000).

External Links

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