Graduand to be hooded by physics professor who was supervised by her father 30 years ago

Fall Convocation will be a defining moment for Lauren Dutcher and a full circle moment for both her father and her PhD supervisor.

Lauren spent nearly all of her twenties working in physics professor Kari Dalnoki-Veress’ research lab. She started out as an undergrad research assistant 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 Kari. “Lauren was a skilled researcher, outstanding TA and an incredible leader, always willing to help out, the first to step up and volunteer. From day one, Lauren was always team first. She’s definitely her father’s daughter.”

Kari would know – 30 years ago, his PhD supervisor at the University of Guelph was Lauren’s father John Dutcher.

“John was a phenomenal supervisor and mentor,” says Kari. “Everything I learned about working with students and running a research group, I learned from John.”

Kari was one of the first graduate students to join John’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 John, 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.”

Kari remembers when Lauren and her twin sister Megan were born – he’d hold them both during dinners and parties with John and his wife Heather.

Kari would go on to become a professor in the Physics & Astronomy Department at McMaster while Lauren and Megan enrolled in the physics program at the University of Guelph. Lauren says their dad never pressured them to study physics.

“I’ve always had a head for numbers. 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.”

Lauren had completed a series of co-ops at her father’s start-up and was looking to try her hand in a university research lab. So she emailed Kari – they hadn’t seen each other in years – asking about summer co-op opportunities.

Every summer, Kari welcomes a couple of undergrads into his lab. He interviewed Lauren 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, says Lauren. “Kari’s a great supervisor and an even better person.”

She saw a lot of similarities between Kari 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.”

Lauren finished her four-month stint as a summer research assistant in Kari’s lab, completed her final year of undergrad at the University of Guelph and asked Kari if she could return as a graduate student.

“I went to a conference where one of the speakers said the number one 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.”

Kari welcomed Lauren back, this time as a graduate research assistant. She’d planned to earn her master’s degree and then get a job in industry but the pandemic changed those plans. While Lauren earned her degree in 2021, she felt she’d missed out on a lot, from 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 Kari with one last request – would he be her PhD supervisor?

“That was a full circle moment,” says Kari who was now the PhD supervisor for his supervisor’s daughter.

John had always known Lauren 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 Lauren was presenting her research. John 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.”

Lauren breaks into a smile when told about her father’s reaction. Many hours of work went into that presentation, says Lauren. “Conference talks are a really big deal with Kari. Nothing’s left to chance.”

Helping undergrads polish their oral and poster presentations was a highlight for Lauren.

“It was cool to see such rapid progress. The students would start with a mess of confusing slides. We’d work together to refocus and rebuild their presentations. The students would be so excited and proud.”

It’s no coincidence that many students from Kari’s lab win presentation awards at conferences. Lauren won her share, 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.”

There’s another proud dad moment coming John’s way during McMaster’s Nov. 20 Convocation ceremony. He was invited by Kari to join the Academic Procession and be on stage. Heather and Lauren’s partner will be in the audience.

Kari 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.” Given that Lauren spent nearly her entire twenties in Kari’s lab, he says this’ll be an especially bittersweet moment.

Kari and John will hood Lauren together, 27 years after John hooded Kari.

“We haven’t figured out yet how we’ll pull this off,” says John. “We’ll do our best not to embarrass Dr. Dutcher.”