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TRIUMF Welcomes Infusion of Young Minds

(Vancouver, BC) - The average age at TRIUMF will drop another notch when three of the  very finest high school science students in British Columbia join the lab this summer.  Already over run with several dozen top undergraduate summer students, TRIUMF will welcome High School Fellowship recipients Adam deAbreu of North Vancouver, Saige McVea of Mission, and Kiel Strang of Robert's Creek for a summer work experience. Their summer job of a lifetime begins July 4 and will end six weeks later with a report or presentation about the work they did immersed in active research groups.
 
This year's Fellows were selected from a cohort of over 60 applicants from all over the province through a two-stage judging process involving judges from across BC. TRIUMF Outreach Coordinator Dr. Marcello Pavan commented that "the selection process this year was particularly difficult, with so many truly outstanding students to consider. I would have gladly taken the whole lot of them !". In fact the quality of the applicants led TRIUMF to increase the number of Fellows to three from the two historically awarded.

Scientists at the lab were eager to snap up these eager young minds. Adam deAbreu will join Dr. Oliver Stelzer-Chilton and his group working on analyzing data from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC accelerator in Geneva. Said Adam “I hope that this will be the first step on the never-ending pathway of my career. I hope that at some point my experience at the fellowship will bring me back to work at TRIUMF or even at CERN's LHC.”  Saige McVea will join Dr. Chris Ruiz and his team working on a nuclear astrophysics experiment in mid-July, and she could not be more excited, saying “The world is complex, beautiful, and mysterious; understanding the laws that govern the universe only deepens my appreciation for it”. Kiel Strang will be part of Dr. Cornelia Hoehr's team in TRIUMF's nuclear medicine division. Said Kiel " this work term will give me a chance to learn more about current physics research and applications and help me see where I might fit in”

TRIUMF has been offering the High School Fellowship since 2004. Fellows spend a six-week research experience at the lab, and are awarded $3000 upon completion of a report or presentation. Dr. Stelzer-Chilton comments that, “It is inspiring to see so many talented young people engaging in science in and outside the classroom with independent ideas. At TRIUMF we are delighted to give these young emerging scientists a chance to develop their skill set in a real life research environment.”

For more information, visit http://www.triumf.ca/outreach/

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About TRIUMF: TRIUMF is Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.  Located on the south campus of the University of British Columbia, TRIUMF is owned and operated as a joint venture by a consortium of the following Canadian universities, via a contribution through the National Research Council Canada and building capital funds from the Government of British Columbia: University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, Carleton University, University of Guelph, University of Manitoba, McMaster University, Universite de Montreal, University of Northern British Columbia, Queen's University, University of Regina, Saint Mary's University, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Winnipeg, York University.  

See http://www.triumf.ca.


Media Contacts

Dr. Marcello Pavan
Outreach & Communications
TRIUMF
Tel:  604.222.7525
outreach@triumf.ca