We are excited to introduce the CCUW*iP 2026 Keynote Speakers
Dr. Ingrid Stairs
University of British Columbia
Dr. Ingrid Stairs is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia. She obtained her undergraduate honours degree from McGill University and went on to complete her Master’s and PhD at Princeton University. Her research focuses on searching for and timing radio pulsars to uncover insights into neutron-star astrophysics, binary evolution, and tests of general relativity. She also investigates fast radio bursts (FRBs) and their origins. Dr. Stairs works with large radio telescopes, including the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and CHIME, to study some of the universe’s most extreme and dynamic systems.
Dr. Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Dr. Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski (PhD, Harvard University, 2019) is a high-energy theorist and faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. She joined Perimeter in 2021 after a postdoctoral fellowship at the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science. Her research explores the deep connections between gravity and quantum physics, including new symmetries of the universe and how spacetime itself might be described as a hologram. As the founder of the Celestial Holography Initiative, Dr. Pasterski leads a team investigating how these ideas could bring us closer to a unified theory of the universe.
Dr. Nancy Forde
Simon Fraser University
Dr. Nancy Forde is a Professor of Physics at Simon Fraser University and a leading biophysicist whose work bridges physics, chemistry, and biology. In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for her groundbreaking contributions to biological physics. Her research uses optical tweezers to measure the tiny mechanical forces acting on single molecules, revealing how biological materials such as collagen and synthetic molecular motors achieve strength, resilience, and adaptability. She is also deeply committed to mentorship and inclusive education, having received multiple awards for teaching excellence and graduate supervision at SFU.
Dr. Stephanie Simmons
Simon Fraser University / Photonic Inc.
Dr. Stephanie Simmons is a Canada Research Chair in Quantum Computing and the co-chair of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy Advisory Council. At Simon Fraser University, her research focuses on developing quantum technologies that use silicon to build more scalable and reliable quantum devices. By studying how electron and nuclear spins in silicon can store and process quantum information, Dr. Simmons and her team are paving the way for practical quantum computers. She is also the founder and Chief Quantum Officer of Photonic Inc., a company translating these breakthroughs into real-world quantum communication and computing systems.
Dr. Heather Russell
University of Victoria
Dr. Heather Russell is the Canada Research Chair in Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Victoria. Her research explores the fundamental building blocks of the universe through large-scale international collaborations. She works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), studying high-energy particle collisions to test and expand the Standard Model of physics. Dr. Russell also contributes to the MATHUSLA experiment, which is developing new ways to detect long-lived particles that could reveal hidden aspects of the universe.
More speakers to come…