On Canada Day, TRIUMF celebrated its own triumph with the addition of three leading research universities as full members to the consortium which owns and operates the laboratory for the benefit of all of Canada. The University of Guelph, Queen's University, and York University all became full members.
Located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, TRIUMF is Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics. Operating the world's largest cyclotron, TRIUMF allows scientists to study everything from health and medicine to materials and fuels to the origins of the universe. Over the past decade, the laboratory has focused on exotic nuclei, more commonly known as medical isotopes.
Within TRIUMF, University of Guelph physics professor Carl Svensson leads an international group that has designed and built a detector called TIGRESS. The device - funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council - acts as a giant microscope that allows scientists to peer into atomic nuclei for clues to how stars form the chemical elements and how nuclear forces hold the atomic nucleus together. Kevin Hall, Guelph's vice-president (research) said the move to full membership "establishes the fact that the University of Guelph has excellent credentials in subatomic physics. It also allows us to pursue bigger opportunities for our physicists and opens up a number of doors for funding for collaborations and facilities to strengthen what's already a strong group of subatomic physicists."
"Queen's has valued its partnership with TRIUMF over the years on a number of key topics," said vice-principal (research) Kerry Rowe. "We welcome this new opportunity to help set the direction of the laboratory." Noting that the TRIUMF laboratory is an extremely important part of the sub-atomic physics community in Canada, Queen's Physics professor and Director of the SNO Institute, Art McDonald, said, "The expertise provided by TRIUMF scientists and technical staff has been and continues to be essential for the success of SNOLAB. We are very pleased to continue this partnership with Queen's as a full member of TRIUMF."
York University has a strong connection to TRIUMF through research collaborations, as TRIUMF provides access to research infrastructure and tools that are too large and complex for a single university to build, operate, or maintain. A good number of physicists in York's Faculty of Science & Engineering collaborate on several research projects including ATLAS, T2K and ALPHA, with physicists working at TRIUMF. "Within one year of becoming an associate member, this extension to full membership position benefits both York University and TRIUMF," said Stan Shapson, York's vice-president (research & innovation). "This will allow our excellent physicists to participate fully in emerging national and international large-scale research collaborations in areas such as advanced nuclear medicine and next-generation particle detectors."
More than 350 scientists, engineers and staff work at the TRIUMF site. The lab attracts about 500 researchers each year from Canada and worldwide, and provides research facilities and opportunities to 150 students and post-doctoral researchers. Opened in 1969, the laboratory also promotes the advancement of particle accelerators and detection technologies, trains researchers and commercializes research.
"We are thrilled to welcome these institutions as full members of TRIUMF," said Feridun Hamdullahpur, chair of TRIUMF's Board of Management and vice-president (research & international) of Carleton University. "We will continue to pursue the basic research that raises the profile of Canadian science internationally and that promises a brighter and more prosperous future for Canadians."
--By T.I. Meyer (based on TRIUMF, Guelph, Queen's, and York press releases)