On the morning of Friday, August 8, 2008, a couple of nervous TRIUMF summer students woke up with sweaty palms and butterflies in their stomachs. On that day, each student presented a 15-minute lecture on their summer co-op term experience. But Hamed Basseri, an undergraduate Medical Physics student from Ryerson University, felt comfortable speaking to three judges (Marcello Pavan, Chris Ruiz, and Stanley Yen) and many peers. “The TRIUMF Summer Student Symposium was a unique chance to share some research I have been involved in with my peers,” says Hamed after the Symposium. “The most challenging aspect was reducing a tremendous amount of information to a short talk.” Hamed presented with confidence and won the competition.
At the Eighth Annual TRIUMF Summer Student Symposium, Hamed presented "ISAC Ion Source Development: Offline Studies of the Negative and FEBIAD Ion Sources". During the summer Hamed worked on offline optimization studies of ion sources. Ion sources are used for the production of intense radioactive ion beams at TRIUMF's ISAC facility.
Choosing a winner is often difficult for the judges, and this year proved to be a particular challenge. In addition to one winner, four Honourable Mentions went to Nicolas Rey-Le Loirier (Université de Montréal), Michael Lindstrom (University of BC), Scott Foubister (Thompson Rivers University), and Katy Hally (Acadia University).
The winner receives an expenses-paid trip to the 2009 Winter Particle and Nuclear Physics Conference in Banff, Alberta. “I am very excited to present my work at the conference,” says Hamed. “It will certainly be valuable professional experience that I will be able to draw on in the future.” The Honourble Mentions receive generous gift certificates from TRIUMF.
Each year, undergraduate summer students at TRIUMF have the opportunity to sign up to present a short lecture on the physics project they worked on during the summer. This occasion allows students to summarize their experience at TRIUMF, show what they learned, and practice the often-feared art of public speaking.
Congratulations to Hamed, Nicolas, Michael, Scott, and all others who participated in the Symposium. You’re one step closer to becoming a seasoned physics lecturer!
By Nicole Dublanko
TRIUMF's Communications Assistant
Thumbnail photo: stock.xchng