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CINS Supports “Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering, Phase 2”

Over the past two years, the University of Windsor has led a pan-Canadian effort to address Canada’s ongoing neutron needs in the CFI-IF 2023 competition. Considering previous engagements and the discussion at recent workshops, the CINS Executive Board proposed the following statement in support of the proposal to seek additional funding from CFI resources. In the subsequent online survey, CINS members were over 97% in favour of the statement.

Statement
CINS supports the University of Windsor’s multi-university, multi-disciplinary proposal to the CFI 2023 Innovation Fund (IF), entitled “Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering, Phase 2,” because it is an essential contribution to the emerging national neutron strategy.

CINS has cooperated with the Canadian Neutron Initiative (CNI) working group in the development of a strategy to rebuild Canadian capacity for materials research with neutron beams. The Canadian neutron beam community is aligning around this strategy and is optimistic about the future, as demonstrated by active participation in the CNI national roundtable meeting in December 2020, and the CINS CFI & Road Map planning workshop in March 2021. The recent success of the pan-Canadian McMaster-led CFI 2020 IF award (i.e. Phase 1) represents a significant contribution towards the national neutron strategy.  This award will dramatically expand neutron scattering capacities at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor, Canada’s only domestic source of neutron beams, and provide increased access for Canadian scientists at high brightness neutron sources abroad. Although this is an excellent start towards addressing Canada’s neutron needs, much more investment is still required to meet the national demand.

“Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering, Phase 2” has emerged as the natural next step for building Canadian neutron infrastructure, and the goals of this proposal already enjoy broad support among the user community. It advances key objectives of the national neutron strategy, including foreign partnerships that will leverage access to more critically-needed beam time and provide Canadians with world-leading capabilities complementary to those secured in Phase 1. It will also include the development of a prototype compact accelerator-based neutron source, which will enable Canada to explore the potential of this source technology and determine its place among the options for new domestic neutron sources in the long-term.  This prototype will add to Canada’s domestic neutron beam capabilities in the areas of neutron diffraction and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. It will also play a unique role in developing Canadian expertise in pulsed neutron sources and instrumentation.

In order to brighten the future of neutron scattering for Canada, CINS will work with project leaders to organize and facilitate the necessary workshops to plan, and engage the community in, this project.

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

TRIUMF_Logo_Blue

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