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CINS Presidential Candidate Statements

We have two candidates for CINS President; Dr. Zahra Yamani and Dr. Pat Clancy. They have been invited to provide a statements in support of their candidacy. See statements below.

Zahra Yamani

Senior Research Scientist, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories

The closure of the NRU reactor marked a turning point for neutron scattering in Canada. Chalk River was more than a neutron source: it was a research hub where staff built and operated instruments, supported users, and collaborated with researchers who relied on its facilities and expertise as extensions of their laboratories. It anchored Canada’s neutron-scattering legacy, from Bertram Brockhouse’s Nobel Prize-winning work to advances across physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, biophysics, the life sciences and industry.

The loss of NRU left Canada without a domestic high-flux, high-capacity neutron-scattering facility. Sustaining research now depends on international access, complementary capabilities at home, and a connected community able to retain its expertise and help shape what comes next. CINS has a central role in that work.

McMaster’s growing neutron-scattering capabilities and the proposed Canada Prototype Compact Accelerator-based Neutron Source (PC-CANS) could strengthen the domestic research base, although neither can replace a high-flux facility. Access to international laboratories remains essential as Canada considers the longer-term possibility of a high-flux multipurpose research reactor. These different pathways need to reflect the scientific breadth of our community and the instrument capabilities, user support and access arrangements required for competitive research.

I joined Chalk River as a postdoctoral fellow more than 20 years ago and later served as an instrument scientist, conducting triple-axis and other neutron-scattering experiments and contributing to instrument development and user support. My experimental work at international facilities, together with my service as a Member-at-Large of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, has broadened my perspective on facility access and the role of scientific societies in representing their members.

Education and training have been central to my work. I have organized and taught neutron-scattering schools and graduate courses combining lectures, experiments and data analysis. During the pandemic, when laboratories were inaccessible, I organized a virtual school using experimental simulations. This experience demonstrated how creative approaches can broaden access to training while reinforcing the value of hands-on work with instruments and experienced scientists.

If elected president, I would work with CINS members to strengthen the Institute’s role as a trusted scientific voice and ensure that our collective needs remain visible as Canada’s neutron-scattering capabilities evolve. Together, we can ensure that CINS’s priorities for instruments, techniques, user support and access continue to reflect the evolving needs of established and emerging research communities. This would position CINS to provide informed, balanced perspectives on existing facilities, international partnerships and future neutron sources.

I would also build on the Institute’s education and outreach activities by supporting hands-on schools, virtual learning, mentorship and connections between students and experimental research. Greater engagement across disciplines and career stages, including with industry, can sustain the expertise and collaborations needed for today’s facilities and those of the future.

CINS’s strength lies in its members. I would be honoured to serve as president and work with the community to sustain neutron-scattering research in Canada and expand opportunities for the next generation.

Pat Clancy

Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University
Deputy Director, Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory

It is a pleasure to stand in the election for the next President of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering. I have been involved in CINS for almost 25 years, and it has had a significant impact on my scientific career. In fact, it was attending the CINS Neutron Scattering Summer School at Chalk River that originally led me into condensed matter physics as an undergraduate.

I believe CINS has a crucial role to play in expanding, unifying, and advocating on behalf of the Canadian neutron user community. We are entering a very important period for CINS, following the success of several major CFI awards, the launch of a new user program at the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory, and new international partnerships with neutron research facilities in the US and Europe. This is an ideal opportunity for CINS to grow our national user community, expand our outreach and training activities, and strengthen our role in lobbying for the future of Canadian neutron science.    

I am strongly committed to the success of the Canadian neutron scattering community. Neutron scattering plays an essential role in my research program at McMaster, where my group specializes in the study of novel quantum materials, such as high-Tc superconductors, frustrated magnets, and low-dimensional systems. Our research depends upon access to both neutron diffraction and neutron spectroscopy, and we routinely perform experiments at the CNBL, Oak Ridge National Lab, the NIST Center for Neutron Research*, ISIS, and the ILL. I am well aware of both the opportunities and the challenges facing many Canadian neutron users.

I have a strong record of service to CINS and the Canadian neutron scattering community. I have served on both the CINS Science Council (2018-2020) and the CINS Board of Directors (2020-present). I have organized several previous CINS meetings at McMaster, and helped to launch the CINS virtual seminar series during the COVID pandemic. I served on the committee that helped to produce the Canadian Neutron Long-Range Plan for 2025-2035, and have played a key role in the development of domestic neutron scattering capabilities at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor. I am the co-PI on the 2025 CFI project “Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering, Part 2” and currently serve as the Deputy Director of the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory.

CINS has played an important role throughout my career, and it would be an honour to give back by helping to lead the organization through this exciting period. I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to build a stronger, more connected, and more sustainable Canadian neutron scattering community, and I would be proud to work with the members of CINS to make that vision a reality.

CINS Student Symposium & AGM – November 14th & 15th

Join us in-person this November for a student symposium (November 14th, 2025) and the CINS Annual General Meeting (November 15th, 2025) held at the Université de Montréal. Registration is open and we have a excellent program of invited talks from researchers across Canada and internationally.


Confirmed Speakers:

  • Antonella Badia (Université de Montréal)
  • Murray Wilson (MUN)
  • Jacques Huot (UQTR)

CINS Agenda (tentative)
Welcome (Drew)
-CINS Business (~30 min)
Election Next Year (Drew brief)
-Neutrons Canada update (John Root – 40 min)
-ISIS Partnership Summary
-CNBL Update (Mitch & Pat – 30 min)
-CFI 2027, 2029 Discussion (Moderate by Marcella ~30 min)
-Business arising
Complete by Noon (12 pm)

Thank you to our sponsor:

World-leading neutron sources gather with Canadian researchers for consultation on the Canadian Neutron Long-Range Plan

The Canadian neutron beam user community gathered at McMaster University February 12 & 13, 2024 to define priorities and establish a path forward for Canada to invest in materials research with neutron beams in order to realize such outstanding returns—and to continue Canadian leadership in this field over the next 10 years.

Please visit Neutrons Canada for the entire article.
https://neutrons.ca/news-item/world-leading-neutron-sources-gather-with-canadian-researchers-for-consultation-on-the-canadian-neutron-long-range-plan/

National Neutron Strategy announcement

We are pleased to announce the release of “The National Neutron Strategy: A strategy to rebuild Canadian capacity for materials research with neutron beams.”  

The strategy represents the consensus of the community built over the past several years and was discussed in depth at the CNI-CIFAR 2020 Roundtable on a National Neutron Strategy in December 2020. The 4 key objectives of the strategy are:

1. Forge partnerships with high-brightness neutron sources in other countries;

2. Build on existing domestic capabilities, including full exploitation of the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR), a medium-brightness neutron source;

3. Explore and invest in developing new neutron sources for the long term; and

4. Create a new, national governance and management framework for these activities.

This strategy is a basis for the national CFI 2023 Innovation Fund proposal led by the University of Windsor for neutron beam infrastructure, while early versions of the strategy supported the national CFI 2020 Innovation Fund award to McMaster University. Presently, 15 universities are founding Neutrons Canada as the central feature of strategic objective 4.

This strategy also serves as a basis for CINS to develop the Neutron Long-Range Plan (LRP). The Neutron LRP will be a realistic plan for the infrastructure investments needed to implement the national neutron strategy over the next decade and beyond.

The National Neutron Strategy is also available from the CNI’s page at http://neutrons.ca.

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.

Office of the Minister of Science meets with researchers who use neutron beams

The Office of the Minister of Science received a delegation of Canadian researchers in support of the Canadian Neutron Initiative on Thursday last week (Feb 08, 2018). Delegates emphasized how irreplaceable neutron beams are to their fields of research.
Continue reading Office of the Minister of Science meets with researchers who use neutron beams →