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Contact:
Mike Thewalt, 604.291.5740/3384; mthewalt@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR;604.291.4323; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca

SFU physicist Mike Thewalt is among nine recipients of a prestigious 2004 Killam Research Fellowship.

The fellowships enable Canada’s best scientists and scholars to devote two years to full-time research and writing. The nine, chosen from 94 researchers from across the country, will join eight others whose fellowships have been renewed in sharing $2 million. The Canada Council for the Arts administers the fellowships.

Thewalt’s focus is to redefine the limits of semiconductor spectroscopy, using isotopically pure silicon. The work will build on SFU’s world-leading role in this area and is expected to set revolutionary new standards for semiconductor spectroscopy.

Thewalt also received a major five-year grant in 2003 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to fund his exploration. He is constructing a unique, new spectrometer that will enable him to analyse the spectrum of light emitted by synthetically manipulated silicon. His work could lead to the discovery of a whole new array of electronic feats for silicon.

The Killam Fellowships support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies within these fields.

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websites:
Natural science & engineering research council; www.nserc.ca/index.htm
The Canada council for the arts-Killiamfellowship;
www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/killam/prsh16b-e.asp