From left: Nicolas Gauthier, Chris Cochrane, Samara O'Hagan, Greg Morris, and Eric Thewalt
Continuing its commitment to provide educational opportunities for top science students in Canada, TRIUMF is pleased to present this year's winners of the Undergraduate Summer Research Awards: Chris Cochrane from Queen's University, Nicolas Gauthier from the Université de Montréal, Greg Morris from the University of New Brunswick, Samara O'Hagan from the University of Alberta, Augustana and Eric Thewalt from Simon Fraser University.
The Research Awards, granted annually to students in at least their second year of study at a Canadian University, are just one of the many outreach initiatives that fulfill TRIUMF's policy to give Canadian students the opportunity to experience the excitement of research at a National Laboratory and to work alongside some of the leading scientists in their field of study. Students are assigned to work on a research project in line with their stated interests and receive a $2,000 scholarship upon the completion of a final report.
Each student comes from one of Canada's five geographic regions and is selected based on academic achievement and a letter of support from the Chair of their Department. TRIUMF welcomes these promising young students to the laboratory and hopes their work this summer will provide them with invaluable experience, preparing them for a bright future in whichever path they choose to pursue in the sciences.
Chris Cochrane, an Engineering Physics student from the Ontario region, is working at TRIUMF as a muSR Condensed Matter Experimentalist. The group he is working with is using muSR to investigate high Tc superconductors and a newly discovered group of superconducting materials known as iron pnictides. "I am hoping that this experience gives me an impression of the differences between university-based research and national lab-based research to help me decide where I want to direct my future endeavors," said Chris. He is also looking forward to seeing how Canadian research teams collaborate within the many international research efforts going on today. Chris aims to pursue graduate studies and continue doing research in the field of materials sciences, and one day hopes to teach physics.
Hailing from the Quebec region is Nicolas Gauthier who will be entering his second year of study in physics this fall. Nicolas is working at TRIUMF as a Detector R&D Assistant on the ATLAS Forward Calorimeter Upgrade under the supervision of Dave Axen. Having just completed his first year of study in physics, Nicolas hopes to discover as much as he can about particle physics and gain valuable research experience. He sees this work term as the perfect opportunity to help guide him in choosing a specialization. "This is my first work term in my field of study and it is giving me the will to continue on this path. During the summer, I really want to be able to contribute to the research and hopefully obtain some significant results."
Greg Morris, from the Atlantic Provinces, is in his fifth year of study in electrical engineering and is working under the supervision of Isabel Trigger as an Analysis Assistant for the ATLAS project at TRIUMF. "The science being done at TRIUMF and other particle accelerator facilities around the world is one of humanity's greatest shared assets," said Greg. Through his experience working in Canada and abroad, Greg has come to realize the value of international cooperation and sharing of knowledge. "Great projects like ATLAS force us to put aside our differences and work together for a common good and they motivate the most ground-breaking scientific research in the world," Greg enthusiastically explained. In the future, he hopes to pursue a graduate degree in physics or some area of engineering closely tied to physics, like medical imaging, and to work as a researcher and teacher, discovering more about our universe and sharing that knowledge with others.
Samara O'Hagan, a fourth year physics student here from the Prairie region, is working on the Radon EDM (Electric Dipole Moment) project under the supervision of Greg Hackman and Matthew Pearson. As with many young science students, this summer research position for Samara is the perfect opportunity to help her decide whether she will continue doing experimental physics in the future. When asked about her expectations for her summer work term, Samara said, "I'd like to learn more about how the experimental mind works. In the classroom I am used to being told how things work instead of stopping myself to think about how something was discovered or a problem was solved." Once she has completed her Bachelor of Science in Math and Physics, Samara plans to work on an Education Degree at UBC.
Coming from the BC region is Eric Thewalt, a third year physics student at SFU who is working on the PiENu experiment this summer under the supervision of Toshio Numao. Eric is anticipating many exciting new opportunities this summer at TRIUMF: "I'm really looking forward to familiarizing myself with PiENu and learning more about real experimental physics research," said Eric. Since PiENu is relatively small, he hopes to be able to work on different aspects of the experiment, from hardware and electronics to data analysis. After graduating in the spring of 2011 from SFU, Eric hopes to go on to grad school and obtain more research experience in order to find out in what area he would like to specialize.
-- Meghan Magee, Communications Assistant