his summer, TRIUMF is pleased to be hosting five winners of The Young Engineers and Scientists (YES!) Fellowship program.
The YES! Fellowship program offers six-week summer research experiences to graduating secondary students in British Columbia entering their first year at a recognized post-secondary institution. The fellowships are located at TRIUMF or research organizations associated with Life Sciences British Columbia. The purpose of this fellowship is for students with a passionate interest in science and engineering to pursue careers in research by offering them opportunities and experience in real-life laboratory environments.
This summer, YES! Fellows Elizabeth Baranes, Molly Long, Michael Sekatchev, Nicolas Fedrigo, and Xander Naumenko are launching their careers at TRIUMF. We caught up with each of them to discuss their experience so far:
Elizabeth Baranes (Crofton House, Vancouver)
“During my time at TRIUMF, I’ll be working on adapting beta-NMR technology to be used on biological molecules. This whole area of research is fascinating as it is a true intersection of different disciplines of science, so I’m particularly excited to see how people of different educational backgrounds work together to produce breakthrough technology.”
Molly Long (Whistler Secondary, Whistler)
“This summer at TRIUMF, I am assisting with the design of a scintillating bubble chamber that will be used in a dark matter direct-detection experiment. I am very excited to work at a world-class research institute and to gain valuable experience before even starting university.”
Michael Sekatchev (Winston Churchill, Vancouver)
"It is a pleasure to be back at TRIUMF this summer, this time part of the T2K Canada group, a collaboration with Japan to detect neutrino oscillations. I am currently helping to investigate geometrical uncertainties in the positioning of photomultiplier detector vessels in the T2K long-baseline neutrino water Cherenkov experiments.
I am fully immersed in TRIUMF's community: The fact that I am treated as an equal member of the group and participant in weekly meetings, and the unique spectrum of projects on the TRIUMF site, all help me realize that this is the type of work I would like to pursue in the future. There has not been a single moment during my stay at TRIUMF where I have not been fully engaged, building on what I already know and expanding my horizons further."
Nicolas Fedrigo (Claremont, Victoria)
“I am excited to engineer a sample distributor for the MIST project to separate irradiated samples into shielded containers for material characterization to investigate the effects of radiation on materials and qualify them for usage at TRIUMF. I am also implementing thermocouples in ISAC targets to monitor specific component’s temperatures when contacted by the world's highest intensity radioactive beam.”
Xander Naumenko (Charles Tupper, Vancouver)
"I've been doing data analysis with the Ultra Cold Neutron Group at TRIUMF, and it's been an amazing experience and an incredible way to spend my summer. It's not every day that you get to work alongside scientists doing cutting edge research in their fields of expertise!"
Congratulations to the YES! Fellowship winners, and welcome to TRIUMF!