Greetings,

Welcome and thank you for reading another edition of the McDonald Institute newsletter. Lots of deadlines to be aware of here, so let's jump in!

McDonald Institute Seminar:

November 20, 2025 at 1:30pm ET

Zachary Picker (Queen’s University)

“Nuggets, balls, and black holes: an overview of macroscopic dark matter”

This seminar will be given in person and streamed to YouTube.

MI HQP Seminar: 

November 26, 2025, at 3:00 PM ET

Avani Bhardwaj (Queen’s University)

Avani will talk about the High Energy Light Isotope eXperiment (HELIX)

Join on Zoom

The HQP (Highly Qualified Personnel) Excellence Awards (HExA) program is underway and accepting applications from astroparticle physics HQP who, in the past year, have made contributions in three key areas: Research Achievement, Community Building/Leadership, and Teaching & Science Communication. Each category has four $1,000 awards each for one undergraduate student, one master’s student, one PhD student, and one Postdoctoral Researcher.

The application deadline has been extended to November 23rd at 11:59 PM. 

https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/news/hexawards/ 



The McDonald Institute is excited to relaunch the Professional Development Opportunities (PDO) program. This program is designed to support the national Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) community in building their skills, confidence, and connections needed for impactful careers in and beyond academia.

We encourage new and existing HQP to join us, and for faculty to promote these opportunities within their research groups. 

Join us for the first session on Wednesday, December 10, at 3 pm EST, where we’ll spark your professional development journey with interactive discussions for charting a roadmap for your skills development during your degrees (or employment if you’re a postdoc!). Mapping Your Skills is a strategic session that helps you build a growth mindset for your career. Whether you’re looking to strengthen leadership, communication, or research translation skills, this series will help you chart your next steps. Stay tuned for more sessions coming in 2026!

Register for the Mapping Your Skills session on December 10 here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/m3f7vpt



We’re pleased to announce a call for applications for McDonald Institute funding to support the hiring of a Postdoctoral Fellow in Experimental Astroparticle Physics. The institute invites faculty members at eligible Canadian institutions to apply for funding to host a postdoctoral researcher in experimental astroparticle physics. The competition will open for applications on Monday, November 24, 2025, and will provide two years of funding to support 75% of a postdoc's salary. Successful faculty who receive an award ticket will then be able to advertise for their positions, with an expected start date before September 30, 2026.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 11:59 PM.



The McDonald Institute’s Cross-Disciplinary Internship (CDI) program continues to connect students from outside physics with astroparticle research teams across Canada. This program aims to build new bridges between disciplines and the study of astroparticle physics. Students who are in non-physics degrees are invited to co-apply with an astroparticle physics postdoc or faculty supervisor. Students receive a $12,000 CAD paid research internship, gaining hands-on experience, mentorship, and national networking opportunities.

Why host a non-physics student in your lab you ask? Supervisors and research groups benefit from fresh ideas, creative problem-solving, and collaboration that strengthens innovation across Canada’s astroparticle physics community.

This year, we’re expanding our program to include an Indigenization Cross-Disciplinary Internship (I-CDI) stream to explore reciprocal knowledge exchanges between Indigenous Knowledges and Perspectives (IKP) and astroparticle physics in a meaningful way. We welcome applications from Indigenous students in post-secondary institutions who want to contribute their skills and perspectives to Canada’s astroparticle physics research community.

Supervisors are invited to co-design cross-disciplinary projects and to connect with interested students from any Canadian post-secondary institution. Please connect with Alexandra Pedersen (alexandra.pedersen@mcdonaldinstitute.ca) if you are curious about the program or are working on your application for support. 

Deadline to apply is January 30th, 2026. 



Learn more and share the opportunity with your networks: https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/cdinternship/

On Friday, November 21, quench your thirst for astronomy at The Great Hall in Toronto! It'll be another fun evening of pints, astronomy news, mind-expanding talks, games, prizes, and Dunlap merchandise for sale!

Following all the talks, there will be plenty of time for you to have all your cosmic questions answered by astronomers from the Dunlap Institute and the University of Toronto.

We will have ASL services at this event for individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1328128642234424

We’re back with another of our signature local events: Astronomy on Tap: Kingston.

This free event will take place in the Living Room of The Mansion (506 Princess St, Kingston) on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.

Local astro-buff Mark Richardson will host three fantastic scientists at the cutting edge of their fields: Nic Moss, Nik Arora and Nick Swidinsky from Queen’s University.

There will be time to ask questions and chat with the speakers and other local scientists. All three of our engaging researchers will speak to a general public audience, so no prior science knowledge is needed – though you may want to brush up on your astronomy, physics and sci-fi knowledge to compete in the trivia session! 🧠 Not to worry, though; there are prizes for the winners, losers, and creatives alike! 🎁

For more information visit: https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/events/astronomy-on-tap-kingston-3/

2026 CAP Congress

The 2026 CAP Congress will be held from June 21-25 at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. The annual CAP Congress is an excellent opportunity to share your research, learn more about physics research and discovery across Canada, network with other physicists and physics students, participate in professional development activities, and help to celebrate physics in Canada and abroad.   

PLEASE NOTE: The abstract submission period is 2 months earlier than in previous years in order to confirm abstract acceptance and finalize the conference program well in advance of Congress. 

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION - January 15, 2026

63rd Winter Nuclear and Particle Physics Conference

(WNPPC2026) will be held at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, from February 12th to 15th, 2026. 

The Winter Nuclear and Particle Physics Conference is a national meeting for the Canadian subatomic physics community, with a special focus on providing a forum for junior researchers (students and postdocs) and encourages scientific discussions and community building with subatomic research groups from across Canada. WNPPC2026 will feature sessions focusing on the research areas of interest to the Canadian subatomic physics community, both experimental and theoretical.

Abstract submission is OPEN, with a deadline of November 28th.

Emmy Noether Fellowship Program Applications now open

This program is open to women and underrepresented groups of all backgrounds and origins. The visiting fellowships, which are held for periods of up to one year, bring talented researchers to the Perimeter Institute at a critical stage of their careers.

The deadline to apply is January 12th, 2026.

https://perimeterinstitute.ca/research/emmy-noether-initiatives/simons-emmy-noether-fellowship 

CCUWIP



The annual Canadian Conference for Undergraduate Women & Gender Minorities in Physics (CCUW*iP) is a national conference gathering physics students and professionals from across the country. Delegates will be participating in plenary lectures, workshops, panels, networking activities, student poster presentations, and more. 

DEADLINE: November 25th 2025 at 11:59 pm PST

https://ccuwip.cap.ca/ 

Congratulations to Renee Hlozek, Daryl Haggard, and the recipients of the 2025 NSERC Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships!

Read more about the award and recipients here.



In Memoriam: Roger Moore

Roger Moore, chair of the physics department of the University of Alberta, passed away unexpectedly in October. He was a strong force for astroparticle physics in Canada as a member of the IceCube and P-ONE collaborations and was named in the 2025 Breakthrough Prize for the ATLAS collaboration's work at LHC. He is deeply missed by his many students, his research colleagues, and the department at the University of Alberta. A longer recognition of Roger’s professional life from the IPP is available here.



Our newsletter provides the astroparticle physics community with updates, programs, and opportunities and we want to help share your story! We invite all members of the community to contribute to this newsletter.



The McDonald Institute at Queen’s University is situated in the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe & Haudenosaunee First Nations. The Institute is part of a national network of institutions and research centres which operate in other traditional Indigenous territories. Visit www.whose.land to learn about the traditional territories where astroparticle physicists are grateful to live and work across Canada.



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