May 2009
I started as TRIUMF director in May 2007. I came from the University of Pennsylvania where I had established a research group in particle physics that reached into neighbouring topics such as accelerator science and technology and medical physics. What attracted me to Canada, and to TRIUMF, was the distinct impression that the laboratory was at a tipping point. “The stars and planets were aligned,” as they say, so that opportunities, capabilities, resources, and key partners were all coming together. This transformational moment is a product of careful planning and hard work by past directors and the user community and more importantly, the alignment of nation-wide, even global, forces for progress. TRIUMF is poised for a transformation—of itself and of its value and impact for Canada as a whole. We should seize this opportunity.
My sense of the tremendous opportunity facing TRIUMF has only grown as I have gotten to know the laboratory, the broader community, and its broad spectrum of patrons and supporters. TRIUMF is not just a laboratory, or just a joint venture by a consortium of universities, or just a leading element of national research enterprise: it is a value statement by Canada about the long-term importance of strategic investments in science, technology, and innovation. TRIUMF’s accomplishments in basic research (particle and nuclear physics, molecular and materials science, nuclear medicine, and information technology), international partnerships, and commercial successes with Canadian companies are the proof behind this statement. And since an opportunity like the present moment has been long in the making, the timing is perfect to move aggressively forward. As Canada considers its place in an increasingly globalized world, TRIUMF can help with innovations in medical isotopes, the next-generation of computer networking and processing, commercializing world-leading technologies, and by attracting the world’s best and brightest to live and work in Canada.
In articulating a vision for the future of TRIUMF and in preparing the Five-Year Plan 2010-2015, an enormous number of individuals have contributed a great deal of time and effort. It would be impossible to acknowledge them all, and so I will simply extend my appreciation here: thank you to everyone.
It is our hope that after navigating through our website and reading this proposal for the future of TRIUMF, you are excited by our plans. If so, please drop me an email at director@triumf.ca.
Sincerely,
Nigel S. Lockyer
Director of TRIUMF