On May 29th, in the oak-panelled, sun-lit Ondaatje Hall of Massey College, U of T celebrated the life and work of the late Prof. Boris Stoicheff. Stoicheff was a preeminent spectroscopist, a University Professor Emeritus in the Physics Department, and a Senior Fellow in the hallowed halls of Massey College. While the name may be unfamiliar to many undergraduates today (Prof. Stoicheff officially retired in 1989), his name is still on the lips of many of his colleagues, former students, and world-renowned thinkers.
Like many successful Canadians, Stoicheff immigrated to Canada as a child. Born in Macedonia in 1924, he and his family came to Toronto in 1931. An academically successful high school career led Stoicheff to choose U of T’s Engineering Physics program, where he was first exposed to spectroscopy. After a short stint at an electronics company, the allure of experimental physics brought him back to U of T where he completed first a Master’s and then a doctoral degree under Professor Harry Welsh. His 1950 Ph.D. thesis was entitled Raman Spectroscopy of Gases at High Temperature.
Soon after graduating, Stoicheff began a very successful 14-year-long fellowship at the National Research Council in Ottawa under Dr. Gerhard Herzberg (who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1971). At the NRC, Stoicheff continued his work on Raman spectroscopy and began research on Brillouin scattering. He built Canada’s first ruby laser, only the second of its kind in the world.
Stoicheff’s scientific standards were at a level unheard of today. He has said that no publication should be superseded by one of higher precision or quality for at least 10 years. This quality of research made Stoicheff regarded at the NRC as someone with renowned patience and scientific curiosity. Dr. Ursula Franklin, herself an accomplished Professor Emeritus of the Physics Department, a prominent peace and human rights advocate, and a colleague of Stoicheff from the days of his doctoral thesis, said at his memorial that Stoicheff’s relationship to science is best described as the relationship a fish has to water.
Stoicheff’s time in Ottawa was instrumental in the development of his career and his attitudes toward science. This was also where he met his wife Joan and was the place where he began his family. His relationship with mentor Dr. Herzberg so influenced his life that upon retiring Stoicheff wrote a biography of his mentor, Gerhard Herzberg—An Illustrious Life in Science.
In 1964, Stoicheff brought the lessons that he learned from Herzberg to his new appointment as Professor of Physics at U of T. Here he established a lab focused on the application of lasers in spectroscopy. Throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, his lab held a position at the forefront of optical spectroscopy, using Brillouin spectroscopy, Rydberg spectroscopy, and tuneable VUV sources to probe the molecular parameters of molecules that were otherwise inaccessible to analysis. This work resulted in the publication of over 190 academic papers. In 1977, U of T gave Stoicheff its highest honour by appointing him University Professor. In celebration of his official retirement in 1989, the Physics Department hosted hundreds of his colleagues from around the world – including many of the Master’s and PhD students he mentored.
A true renaissance man, Professor Stoicheff’s interests lay not only in physics and mathematics, but also in the humanities. A favourite topic of Stoicheff’s was the use of light in theatre, religion, psychology, and art, especially paintings by the chiaroscuro master Caravaggio, which was a source for much of his writing on art. He and Professor Henry van Driel led a first year seminar course on light, optics and photonics called “The Riddle of Light”, a course that Stoicheff developed after his retirement. The lucky twenty students a year who were able to enrol in the course were exposed not only to scientific interpretations and theories of light, but also to light experts from other fields. Guest lecturers included the Light Director of the Stratford Festival, and a field trip to the AGO led by the gallery’s director.
Even after his retirement Stoicheff continued to teach, attend lectures, write manuscripts, and spend time in the Physics Department and at Massey College. Until December of last year, he could still be found on campus up to three times a week but, on April 15, 2010 Professor Stoicheff lost his battle with multiple myeloma.
Professor Stoicheff served on many boards during his distinguished career, including acting as president of the Canadian Association of Physics, the Founding Director of the Ontario Laser and Lightwave Research Centre, and the first foreign president of the Optical Society of America. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of London, and an honorary member of many overseas academies of science. He has received multiple honorary degrees, and in 1982, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Can
ada. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, the Canadian Journal of Physics awarded a special issue honouring his contributions to experimental physics. Stoicheff also holds the Henry Marshall Tory Gold Medal, the Centennial Medal of Canada, the William F. Meggers Award, the Frederic Ives Medal, and the Canadian Association of Physics Medal of Achievement.
Every December, the Stoicheff lecture is held by the Institute for Optical Science at U of T and the Royal Canadian Institute, drawing roughly 400 attendees to a lecture given by a leader in the field of spectroscopy. This honour is only fitting for a man who said that his own scientific career was enriched at the NRC because of his opportunities to meet actual or potential Nobel Prize winners.
One of Professor Stoicheff’s favourite places on campus was Massey College, where he was a Senior Fellow for over 30 years. The college thus served as the perfect location for his memorial service, which was attended by family, friends, colleagues, and former students. The program included words from his son, Professor Peter Stoicheff, and friends and colleagues from both the Physics Department and Massey College. A vocal performance from ensemble members of the Canadian Opera Company closed the ceremony.
Professor Stoicheff is survived by his wife Joan, son Peter, daughter-in-law Kathryn Warden, two grandchildren, and sisters Anne Leigh, Dorothy Arnold, Margaret Stoicheff, and Jessie Channer. A student award, The Boris Stoicheff Memorial Initiative, has been created in his honour and donations to it can be made through the Office of Advancement, Faculty of Arts and Science, at the University of Toronto.
