COLUMN: Carillon Flashback February 27, 2014 – Steinbach man makes a mark in nuclear physics

Dr. Erich Vogt, a Steinbach man, who went on to be a leader in the world of nuclear physics, passed away Feb. 19. He was 84.

Vogt was born in Steinbach in 1929, where his family operated the OK Economy Food Store. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba with an honours degree in physics and the university gold medal in 1951. A year later, he went on to pursue a doctoral degree in theoretical physics at Princeton University in New Jersey, graduating in 1955.

In 1955, Vogt was awarded a $2,500 fellowship in science by the National Research Council of Canada, just after he had concluded his studies at Princeton. For his post doctorate work he chose Birmingham University, Birmingham, England.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Vogt worked as a theoretical physicist with the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratory. Vogt was involved in the development of the CANDU reactor and was a co-founder of TRI University Meson Facility (TRIUMF), Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.

In 1976, he was made an officer of the Order of Canada.

Vogt, who became one of Canada’s most outstanding physicists, received an honorary degree from the University of Manitoba in October of 1982.

Vogt was director of the TRIUMF laboratory at the University of British Columbia since 1980. Some of his early work on alpha particle reactions was still cited by researchers and his national and international reputation as a scholar has been continually enhanced.

He was one of the leading advocates behind the establishment of the TRIUMF laboratory, which has been operating since 1974. The laboratory was originally established for the joint use of four western universities, but has also been open to other Canadians and overseas scientists, including U of M scholars.

The TRIUMF research program is based on a cyclotron. As director of the facility since 1980, Vogt oversaw a laboratory employing approximately 250 staff at the main site, with a similar number of scientists and support staff being associated with the facility.