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“Beam-based Probes of Condensed Matter Physics, Chemistry and Related Fields in Canada” Conference

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The Centre for Molecular and Materials Science (CMMS) at TRIUMF is organizing a virtual 2-day workshop for Thursday, June 3rd and Friday, June 4th. The motivation for this workshop is that TRIUMF is engaged in developing a 20-year vision for the laboratory and our stakeholders. There have been several areas where the community would benefit from contributions from TRIUMF, both scientifically and on technical elements. This in turn would provide the community enhanced options for studies outside of the existing program in μSR and βNMR, building new capabilities and synergies. All these ideas need to be put in context of national and international developments and competitiveness.  

This workshop is designed to enable researchers, professors and scientists at Canadian institutions and facilities to present and discuss developments, and learn from ideas at other facilities and in other research areas. It will provide opportunities for coordination and identification of new concepts. The workshop will have sessions on the following topics:

Thursday, June 3rd (all times in PDT)
08:00 – 10:00 Session 1: Novel capabilities with μSR
10:30 – 12:30 Session 2: Neutron scattering (with an accelerator-based source)
13:00 – 15:00 Session 3: Polarized radioactive isotopes
15:30 – 17:30 Session 4: Muonic X-ray analysis and μ-SR

Friday, June 4th (all times in PDT)
08:00 – 10:00 Session 5: Positron annihilation spectroscopy
10:30 – 12:30 Session 6: THz spectroscopy in Canada
13:00 – 15:00 Session 7: Synchrotron light sources
15:30 – 17:30 Session 8: μSR idea and concepts

Each session will have three 30-minute talks followed by 30 minutes for discussion. Between each session there will be a 30-minute break, where additional discussions can occur. A link to the Indico site can be found here: https://meetings.triumf.ca/indico/event/231/.  We are currently confirming the last of the invited speakers and contribution titles.

While there is no registration fee, registration is required for attendance to this conference. Please register by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, May 30th via the Indico site above. All registrants will be contacted via email on Monday, May 31st with the Zoom connection information.

Any questions can be directed to the Physical Sciences Division office at sciencediv@triumf.ca

CINS applauds the CFI award for the McMaster-led national project, “Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering”

The Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering (CINS) is thrilled for the neutron beam community to receive a $14.25 million Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Innovation Fund grant project called, Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering.

“Researchers who use neutron beams are contributing to many key areas of technological innovation that is important to Canadians – from reducing greenhouse emissions, fighting cancer and antibiotic resistance to auto parts manufacturing – just to name a few,” says Drew Marquardt, president of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering.

CINS along with the Canadian Neutron Initiative have helped coordinate this multi-institutional project by bringing together the Canadian neutron beam community.

“Projects of this scope cannot succeed without the entire community behind you,” says project lead Bruce Gaulin.  

“This grant breathes new life into the neutron scattering community in Canada. It will provide, not only, valuable material research tools but the ability to train the next generation of Canadian scientists ‘at home.’”

For a list of researchers across Canada willing to speak to reporters, contact Drew Marquardt at drew.marquardt@uwindsor.ca.

About CINS
CINS is a not-for-profit, voluntary organization that represents the Canadian scientific community of neutron beam users and promotes research using neutron beams. Discover neutrons for materials research at: http://cins.ca/discover/

For more information:

Drew Marquardt
Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Windsor
E drew.marquardt@uwindsor.ca

“An Emerging National Neutron Strategy in Canada”

McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR)
McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) (Photo by McMaster University)

On December 15 and 16, 2020, leading scientists from across Canada gathered virtually to shape this “national neutron strategy” at a round-table organized by the Canadian Neutron Initiative (CNI)and CIFAR, with support from the European Spallation Source and the Fedoruk Centre.

A brief news item can be found at: https://fedorukcentre.ca/documents/resources/cni/an-emerging-national-neutron-strategy-in-canada.pdf

Thank you!

63 Canadian researchers responded to our survey of how they are able to meet their research needs with neutron beams. We’re tabulating the responses to see how things are in the two years since the closure of the CNBC.

“Neutrons Canada” meeting report available

On 2020 January 29, the Vice Presidents of Research or their designates from 16 Canadian universities met in Ottawa to discuss a proposed new pan-Canadian, university-led framework to manage Canada’s infrastructure, international partnerships, projects, and programs for materials research with neutron beams.

CINS is pleased to announce that a 21-page, fulsome report of the meeting is now available for download here:
https://fedorukcentre.ca/documents/resources/cni/neutrons-canada-roundtable-2020-jan-29—full-report.pdf

The report builds on the consensus of the meeting that Canada should maintain its leadership role in materials research with neutron beams. It has an extensive list of policy resources, and discussion of example strategic roadmaps from Europe and elsewhere.

Europe leans in to help establish Neutrons Canada

On January 29, Fifteen senior executives of Canada’s research universities met in Ottawa with Dr Mona Nemer, Canada’s Chief Science Advisor, and several of our European colleagues to discuss how to establish a new cross-Canadian university-led organization to manage Canada’s infrastructure for materials research with neutron beams.

BrightnESS², the European Union-funded project within the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, wrote a report of the meeting, which included John Womersley, ESS Director General, and ILL Director Helmut Schober.

70 Years of Neutron Beams for Materials Research: The CNBC Releases Its Final Activity Report

With the release of its final activity report, the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC) celebrates Canada’s leadership in the use of neutron beams for materials research for over 70 years.

“Our leadership began with the startup of the NRX reactor at Chalk River Laboratories in 1947,” says John Root, Director of the CNBC. “It spanned from the pioneering days of developing neutron scattering techniques through to the global recognition of neutron beams as an invaluable tool for the study of materials.”

The importance of these advancements was marked by the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics, as well as by the proliferation of neutron beam facilities around the world.

“Today, we are proud to have grown a strong Canadian community of neutron beam users who have engaged with us to maximize value from our beamlines until the very last moment of the NRU reactor’s operating life in March 2018,” continues Root.

Since the closure of the NRU reactor, the CNBC has been in a decommissioning phase.

“As we look forward to the future by securing access to neutron beams from alternate facilities, now is an appropriate time to pause and reflect on Canada’s strong record of performance and impact, as presented in this report,” adds Thad Harroun, President of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering.   

Read the 2019 CNBC Activity Report

Report Examines Impact of Canadian Research Using Neutron Beams on Canada’s Innovation Economy

The Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC), a national research facility in Chalk River, Ontario, that is now in a decommissioning phase, “had a positive impact on Canadian innovation, research, and industry, as well as on the development of highly qualified personnel in Canada.” This is the conclusion of Strategic Policy Economics (Strapolec), a leading strategy consulting firm commissioned by the CNBC to analyse and summarize the benefits that materials research using neutron beams the CNBC has offered to Canada’s academic communities and industries.

“The Strapolec report provides fresh evidence of impact from the CNBC and its user community, and builds on earlier studies by Science-Metrix and KPMG,” says John Root, CNBC Director.

“Among other analyses, Strapolec undertook the first longitudinal analysis of students that have received training at the CNBC over the years,” adds Root, noting that there have been about 1000 such students over the past 35 years.

The study found that the CNBC was an engine of supply of highly qualified people, enhancing university training and inspiring students to pursue greater educational achievements, which led to careers in Canada’s academic, industrial manufacturing, and scientific R&D sectors where their skills are needed most.

Other major findings of Strapolec include:

  • The CNBC was a key element of Canada’s research infrastructure that supports its innovation economy and was competitive with international neutron beam facilities.
  • The CNBC’s user community was well-distributed across Canada, and it enabled these users to make greater scientific impacts; it was used by a high proportion of Canada Research Chair holders and was rated Canada’s most valuable research asset by international scientific experts.
  • Researchers who used the CNBC attracted a high proportion of collaborative industry research dollars from a broad cross-section of Canada’s industries that invest in R&D.

“The CNBC was held in high esteem among the international research community; it was probably the best regarded major research facility in Canada,” says Thad Harroun, President of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering. “Our expertise is now focussed on re-creating that success at a new facility.”

Read the Full Report

Parliamentary Committee Recommends Implementation of the Canadian Neutron Initiative

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (FINA)  recommended, in its December 10, 2018 report, that the Government of Canada “Support the pan-Canadian, university-led Canadian Neutron Initiative to ensure that Canada maintains our place among leaders in materials research in priority areas, such as producing and storing clean energy, growing the economy through advanced manufacturing and clean technologies, and promoting health through biomedical and life sciences.” 
The report, entitled Cultivating Competitiveness: Helping Canadians Succeed, is the culmination of the Committee’s consultations for the 2019 budget. 

The recommendation to implement the Canadian Neutron Initiative (CNI) is part of a series of recommendations to “stimulate research and development.” The recommendation follows the submission of the CNI Working Group, which asked for an allocation of “$24M of new funding in Budget 2019, and $100M over five years, starting in 2021‐22, to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to establish, via the Canadian Neutron Initiative, a pan‐Canadian,university‐led framework for materials research and innovation with neutron beams.” 

The brief to the CNI as presented to FINA in 2018 and in 2017 are available from the CNI resource page.