Carleton professor Manuella Vincter was one of 89 individuals elected as a fellow to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) on Sept. 11.
According to its founding document, the society “recognizes remarkable contributions in the arts, humanities and sciences, as well as in Canadian public life.”
Vincter views her election as a reaffirmation of Carleton’s growing profile as a research institution.
She is well-known for her local leadership with the ATLAS project, a major international particle physics experiment.
The project is primarily based in Switzerland, and it consists of more than 3,000 physicists and students from various institutions around the world.
“Fifteen years ago, when people thought about Carleton, they wouldn’t necessarily think about research, they’d think more about ‘this is a teaching institution,’” she said.
“I think it’s fabulous, not just for me, but for anybody who does research at Carleton to be recognized that way because the word ‘Carleton’ gets associated to that.”
Carleton vice-president (research and international) Rafik Goubran congratulated Vincter in an email statement to the Charlatan.
“She has demonstrated excellence throughout her career and engaged in research that directly contributed to important scientific discoveries,” he said. “Carleton is fortunate to have such a strong researcher.”
Simon Viel, assistant professor of experimental physics who formerly worked with Vincter, also praised her.
“It’s a great recognition of her contribution to Canadian science,” he said. “In addition to being a great scientist, she’s someone who’s really easy to approach . . . she has a strong positive influence on the department of physics at Carleton.”
Vincter specializes in experimental physics and has been a member of the ATLAS experiment since 1998.
She has held many positions within the ATLAS organization over the years, but currently serves as a member of the executive board.
She is also the Carleton team leader for the organization, and leads six professors, four postdoctoral researchers, and eight graduate students.
One of the ATLAS projects that Vincter helped with with is the discovery of the Higgs-Boson, an elementary particle which was proposed as a theory in 1964 but remained unproven until ATLAS—along with another experiment, CMS—observed it in 2012.
Carleton professors were involved in the analysis that lead to the discovery, Vincter said.
Photo by Jasmine Foong
