Undergraduate Research Awards

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TRIUMF Summer Research Awards for Canadian Undergraduate Students

TRIUMF is Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, located on the campus of the University of British Columbia. Our 500 MeV cyclotron and smaller isotope production cyclotrons support a diverse program of world class research in particle physics, nuclear physics and chemistry (including nuclear astrophysics), condensed matter and materials research, and life sciences. In addition, TRIUMF acts as an infrastructure lab for international collaborations in subatomic physics at European laboratories such as CERN and DESY, American laboratories such as Brookhaven, SLAC, and JLab, the Japanese laboratory KEK, and other laboratories around the world.

TRIUMF has a policy to give Canadian undergraduate students the opportunity to experience the excitement of research at a National Laboratory such as TRIUMF. In part to fulfill this policy, we sponsor 5 scholarships every year to bring one student from each of the 5 regions of Canada (Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Prairie Provinces, British Columbia)¹ to TRIUMF. TRIUMF reserves the right to not award a scholarship if it is deemed that there are no qualified candidates from one or more of the regions. The present competition for the Summer 2010 awards (May to August 2010) has an application deadline of January 20, 2010.

Highlights:

• Students will be assigned to work on a research project, with consideration given to his/her stated interests.
• Salaries will be in the range $1900 to $2700 per month, depending on work experience and the number of academic terms completed.
• Airfare (Airfare not applicable for Greater Vancouver, Fraser River Valley, and Vancouver Island institutions. Ferry and car mileage paid for Vancouver Island institutions) return from the home institution will be paid by TRIUMF.
• Students will receive a $2000 scholarship on the satisfactory completion of a report on their research.
• There are weekly student seminars given by leading Scientists in their field.
• Social activities are organized by the 40 undergraduates TRIUMF usually has on site each summer.
• Vancouver and its environs is a world-famous vacation destination, with much to offer students during their non-working hours and weekends.

Possible areas or research projects that may be available include:

• Decays of the muon and pion
• Life Sciences with radioisotopes
• Nuclear Theory
• Fundamental symmetry with beta decays, atom and ion traps, and laser spectroscopy
• Neutrino oscillation
• Nuclear astrophysics and exotic nuclear properties
• High-energy experiment and analysis
• Accelerator Physics
• Materials Science with muon and beta decay

To apply:

• You must be enrolled at an accredited Canadian post-secondary institution and be legally entitled to work in Canada.²
• You must be currently enrolled in your second (first in Quebec), or higher, year of studies in the physical sciences or engineering.³
• You must have achieved a first-class standing;
• You must send in the following documents:
  1. a curriculum vitae, which clearly states your email address,
  2. an official copy of your academic transcript. Quebec students in first year of university should also submit a copy of their academic transcript from their CEGEP.
  3. a letter of recommendation from your university department chair. In addition to a letter from the chair, TRIUMF will also accept a letter from another professor who may know the student better. This is to aid in cases where the chair does not know the applicant directly.
  4. a covering letter of 500 words or less, describing what your interests and career ambitions are, and which part of the TRIUMF scientific program you are most interested in.
  5. a list of the top 3 Summer jobs you are interested in. The job descriptions will be available online in January, 2010. If you want to submit your application before the job descriptions are online, you can provide your preference once they are available.

This material must be received by January 20, 2010.

Applications must be sent to:

TRIUMF
c/o Summer Scholarship Program
4004 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, B. C.
Canada V6T 2A3
or by e-mail to: student@triumf.ca

For more information, contact:
Ms Dana Giasson
4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, B. C. V6T 2A3
phone: (604) 222-7565 fax: (604) 222-1074
e-mail: student@triumf.ca

Electronic applications, reference letters, and transcripts will be accepted, provided:

• Curriculum vitae and cover letter are in pdf format;
• Reference letters are emailed by the department chair or professor, and must clearly indicate the sender as being that person; any sent by the applicant or another proxy will not be accepted. Reference letters sent as PDF documents or as plain-text messages are acceptable.
• Transcripts are emailed directly from the registrar's office of your insititution, and must clearly indicate the sender as being that registrar's office.

Scholarship winners will be notified by email on or before February 10, 2010.

Please note that if you are interested in working at TRIUMF in the summer of 2010 regardless of receiving a scholarship award, you must apply directly to the TRIUMF Student Program . TRIUMF Summer Jobs are posted around the middle of January, and you must submit a separate application for each posting that you wish to apply for.  **You do not need to submit applications for any jobs that you included in your "top 3" choices in your Summer Research Award Application.**

Notes:

1. TRIUMF reserves the right to not award a scholarship if it is deemed that there are no qualified candidates from one or more of the regions.
2. These jobs are available to eligible students from an accredited post secondary institution in Canada. To be eligible, the student must be a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent  Resident. Foreign students may apply, provided they have temporary resident status, where required, and have a valid work permit.
3. The TRIUMF Summer Research Award cannot be:
   • held simultaneously with other awards such as the NSERC Undergraduate Research Award;
   • awarded to past winners of the TRIUMF Summer Research Award