Convocation will be a defining moment for Lauren Dutcher and a full circle moment for both her PhD supervisor and her father.
Dutcher spent nearly all of her twenties working in physics professor Kari Dalnoki-Veress’ research lab. She started out as a summer research student and leaves with her PhD in soft matter physics.
She’s also leaving a void in the lab that’ll be tough to fill, says Dalnoki-Veress.
“Lauren was a skilled researcher, outstanding TA and an incredible leader, always willing to help out, the first to step up and volunteer,” he says.
“From Day 1, Lauren was always team first. She’s definitely her father’s daughter.”
He would know: John Dutcher, Lauren’s father, was his PhD supervisor nearly 30 years ago at the University of Guelph.
“John was a phenomenal supervisor and mentor,” says Dalnoki-Veress.
“Everything I learned about working with students and running a research group, I learned from John.”
A star pupil
Dalnoki-Veress was one of the first graduate students to join John Dutcher’s Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces Group, and he set a high bar.
“Kari was like a sponge — he wanted to know how to do everything,” says the older Dutcher, director of the University of Guelph’s B.Sc. Nanoscience program, the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Soft Matter and Biological Physics from 2006 until 2020, and co-founder of Mirexus Biotechnologies.
“Kari was one of those rare students who never made the same mistake twice. He was driven to constantly improve and took everything to heart.”
Dalnoki-Veress remembers when Lauren and her twin sister Megan were born — he’d hold them both during dinners and parties with their parents.
He would go on to become a professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at McMaster, while the younger Dutchers enrolled in the physics program at the University of Guelph.
The student is now the teacher
Lauren Dutcher says their dad never pressured them to study physics.
“I was good at it so I just kept going. And growing up, we had the added bonus of the perfect physics tutor at home.”
She never took her father’s courses — and not just to avoid conflicts of interest. “He’s a patient teacher but a strict marker.”
As an undergrad looking for university lab experience, she emailed Dalnoki-Veress, asking about summer co-op opportunities.
Every summer, Dalnoki-Veress welcomes a couple of undergrads into his lab. He interviewed Dutcher and offered her a spot, even though he was initially nervous.
“I didn’t want to mess up. John knows the difference between good and bad supervision. I was worried word would get back to John if I wasn’t measuring up to his standards.”
There was no reason to worry, Lauren Dutcher says. “Kari’s a great supervisor and an even better person.”
She saw a lot of similarities between him and her father. “They both run their labs the same way. They’ve both launched companies. They share the same persistent optimism. They’re great communicators who know how to explain complex concepts and big ideas. They treat everyone with genuine respect. And they have the same work ethic — I don’t know anyone who works as hard as my dad and Kari.”
The only difference? “My dad’s a bit more reserved while Kari’s a little more outgoing. You can always hear Kari coming down the hall.”
After Dutcher completed her final year at the University of Guelph, she asked Dalnoki-Veress if she could return as a graduate student.
“I went to a conference where one of the speakers said the No. 1 factor in choosing where to do graduate studies should be your supervisor. That’s when I knew I didn’t need to look anywhere else.”
Dalnoki-Veress welcomed her back, this time as a graduate research assistant.
She planned to earn her master’s degree and then get a job in industry, but the pandemic changed those plans.
She earned her degree in 2021, but felt she’d missed out on a lot — doing research in the lab, teaching students and presenting in person at conferences.
“I felt like I still had lots left to learn.”
So she went back to Dalnoki-Veress with one last request: Would he be her PhD supervisor?
“That was a full circle moment,” says Dalnoki-Veress, who was now the PhD supervisor for his own supervisor’s daughter.
A proud dad — and colleague
Dutcher’s father had always known she would be in good hands. “Kari’s group does inventive, creative, high-level science and the mentorship he provides to students is stellar.”
That mentorship led to a proud dad moment at the 2023 American Physical Society conference in Las Vegas, where his daughter was presenting her research. The older Dutcher sat in the audience and watched in awe.
“I was totally blown away by the quality of Lauren’s work, her confidence and her command of a room full of experts.”
“That was such a rewarding moment as a parent and a fellow physicist.”
Dutcher breaks into a smile when told about her father’s reaction. Many hours of work went into that presentation, she says. “Conference talks are a really big deal with Kari. Nothing’s left to chance.”
Dutcher has won her share of presentation prizes, earning the best presentation award at Physics & Astronomy department’s annual symposium day in 2020 and then a pair of awards at the Canadian Association of Physicists Congress in 2024.
“Kari would always remind us that if you do the work, you’ll get the results.”
Full circle
There’s another proud dad moment coming John Dutcher’s way: Dalnoki-Veress invited him to join the Academic Procession and be on stage at the Nov. 20 convocation ceremony.
Dalnoki-Veress doesn’t pass up the opportunity to attend convocation and hood the students he’s supervised.
“It’s a real honour to be asked and such a moment of pride and joy.”
Dalnoki-Veress and John Dutcher will hood Lauren Dutcher together, 27 years after John hooded Kari.
“We haven’t figured out yet how we’ll pull this off,” says John Dutcher. “We’ll do our best not to embarrass Dr. Dutcher.”