Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: September 24, 2021

Walter N. Hardy, C.M.
Vancouver, British Columbia

Physicist Walter Hardy is among Canada’s pre-eminent experimentalists. Professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, he designed groundbreaking survey techniques and scientific apparatus that were decisive in the advancement of condensed matter physics. Throughout his career, he strengthened our national research capacity, notably by making key contributions to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Superconductivity Program. In retirement, he joined the Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus collaboration research initiative at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which garnered international recognition for trapping and storing atoms of antimatter—one of the most historic scientific breakthroughs of modern times.