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In Memoriam: Yoginder Joshi,
Apr 02, 2008
OSA Remembers Dr. Yoginder Joshi
The optics community was saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Yoginder Joshi, an OSA Fellow and Senior Research Professor of Physics at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Dr. Joshi passed away on April 2, 2008. He was 70.
Dr. Joshi was born in the Punjab in India. After completing a master’s degree at Punjab University and teaching in India for two years, he came to Canada in 1961. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 1964. In 1965, after teaching at St. Dunstan’s University (now the University of Prince Edward Island) for one year, Dr. Joshi joined the physics department at St. Francis Xavier University, where he remained throughout his career. He served as chair of the physics department from 1990-96 and established a world-renowned laboratory in atomic spectroscopy. Upon his retirement from the university in 2001, Dr. Joshi was appointed a Senior Research Professor. He continued his research and some teaching until his death.
During his career Dr. Joshi created a world-wide network of collaborators. He had active collaborations with physicists in the Netherlands, Russia, France, Italy, U.S.A., India, Egypt and Canada. His research was funded continuously by the National Research Council of Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada throughout the 43 years he was at St. Francis Xavier. He published over 240 papers, including five in the past few months while recuperating from cancer treatment.
In 1993 Dr. Joshi was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, and in 1994 he was elected an Associate Member of the Institute of Atomic Spectroscopy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He received the St. Francis Xavier University Research Award in 1996.
This obituary was prepared by Michael Steinitz, editor, Canadian Journal of Physic and Professor of Physics, St. Francis Xavier University.
