Greetings,
We hope you had a good summer and were able to carve out some time for family, friends, and yourself.
This edition of our newsletter is focused on a few key community-centred initiatives, so please have a look. The strength of this community is really in how we can connect across institutions, projects and facilities. For those looking for more science updates, there are some exciting things happening that we will post to our website soon, and will include in the September newsletter.
Have a great summer’s end, stay safe, and hopefully, we’ll see you in the next few weeks!
|
|
SNOLAB User Meeting, Aug 12 - 13 |
|
The SNOLAB User Meeting brings members of the community together to present their work and learn more about the research of their colleagues. The meeting will provide overview talks of current SNOLAB experiments and the opportunity for others to present on specific projects they are involved in. This meeting invites participants to network and develop interactions between users. There will be a variety of presentations, workshops and panel discussions including career development and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).
|
|
National Meeting of the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Community, Aug. 25-26
The McDonald Institute is hosting several online sessions Aug. 25-26 tailored to support the community’s ongoing long-term research planning. Key sessions on Aug. 25-26 will address various challenges of developing, planning and operating future generations of experiments that will likely operate for at least 10 years, if not multiple decades.
Sessions on Aug. 25 will address the current and future states of global 0νββ detection work and will also review community feedback collected by the McDonald Institute in response to a recent request for input from SNOLAB.
Sessions on Aug. 26 will feature a panel of long-duration experimentalists from particle physics, cosmology, microbiology and other fields, who will share their insights on “what changes when experimental durations ‘go long?’”. The McDonald Institute will also update its own sustainment initiatives for supporting the community as the field’s major facilities commission a new generation of experiments while it plans for the next generation after that.
This year’s National Meeting of the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Community aims to complement key August events including the SNOLAB User Meeting's facility updates, research presentations, skills development workshops and EDII discussions, as well as the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer Students Talk Competition. Its long-term-horizon themes are specifically geared to engage research colleagues who have, or will likely contribute, to the ongoing process of developing a multi-decade vision for global particle astrophysics and Canada’s roles within the field.
REGISTRATION AND SCHEDULE AT:
|
|
The Canadian Astro-Particle Physics Summer Student Talk Competition (CASST), will take place over two days, Monday, August 23rd, and Thursday, August 24th. The full schedule of talks is available on the Indico site here: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1059760/contributions/
|
|
Once again, the McDonald Institute offers annual recognition awards for students who have made significant contributions to research, outreach and education, equity, and innovation leadership.
Awards will consist of a $250 honorarium and a commemorative certificate in recognition of contributions to the Canadian astroparticle physics community. You are invited to nominate students to receive these awards (The deadline is August 23, 2021, at 12h00 EDT).
To be eligible for consideration:
- Nominees must have been enrolled as a student at a Canadian post-secondary institution on March 31, 2021. This applies to any college or university undergraduate or graduate student meeting this criterion.
- Nominees’ significant work or achievements for award consideration occurred between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Nominators may reference the continuing impact of eligible work or achievements through July 31, 2021.
- Nominees’ eligible achievements and contributions have benefited or will be likely to benefit, any portion of the Canadian astroparticle physics community other than the nominee (or any portion of the Canadian public in the Outreach & Education category).
- Nominees have not been awarded in the same category with the McDonald Institute within the last two calendar years.
|
|
McDonald Institute Census – Thank you for your participation! |
|
The McDonald Institute Census for the 2020 – 2021 fiscal year closed at the end of July 2021. We are currently analyzing the information to incorporate in our annual report to our funding agency as well as reviewing your feedback.
We are grateful for your cooperation and patience in completing the census, especially as we launched our new membership portal to host the census. Through your feedback and contribution, we will continue to work towards implementing meaningful and relevant programming, opportunities, training, events, resources, and tools that benefit the Canadian Astroparticle Physics community.
Thank you for your participation!
|
|
We’ve concluded PD&L for the 2021 Summer Season! Thank you to all those who attended weekly sessions and monthly Professional Development CAFÉs! We’re planning programming for an exciting Fall 2021 term with more online events!
Be sure to sign up for the Professional Development Opportunities with the McDonald Institute to be the first notified when new sessions are available:
|
|
Previously Recorded Sessions available
We have updated the Professional Development and Learning series website to improve navigation and provide access to previously recorded sessions. Further sessions will be added, so be sure to check in with the website in the future!
|
|
Self-Guided Professional Development and Learning EDII Series
A reminder that the self-guided modules for enhancing your equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization (EDII) competencies are now available. These opportunities are open to students, staff, and faculty affiliated with the McDonald Institute. We thank our partners at the Human Rights and Equity Office (Queen’s University) for providing this training to the network!
The following opportunities are available:
- Introduction to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Power, Bias, and Privilege
- Unconscious Bias
- Conversations on Decolonization
- Navigating Difficult Conversations
- Inclusive and Responsive Teaching
- Call it Out
|
|
Congratulations to a recent Vanier Scholar in Astroparticle Physics! |
|
A warm congratulations to Kate Fenwick (PhD Candidate at University of Ottawa) who received the highly competitive Vanier Scholarship 2021 from the Tri-Agency (NSERC). Kate’s research focus is in the area of optics – physics and astronomy and her work is entitled: “Overcoming photosensitivity limits and unlocking unprecedented quantum control using entangled two-photon absorption spectroscopy.”
We look forward to seeing more great things from Kate in the future and encourage students who are eligible to check out the Vanier Scholarship opportunities! The Vanier Scholarship offers $50,000 per year for three years to doctoral candidates. Adjudication focuses on academic excellence, research potential and leadership.
|
|
SNOLAB Seminar Series
Aug 16 Dr. Noah Kurinsky (FNAL) Design and characterization of a phonon-mediated cryogenic particle detector with an EV-scale threshold and 100 KEV-scale dynamic range
|
|
Opportunities:
SNOLAB Executive Director:
SNOLAB is currently seeking a dynamic individual to lead the organization as its Executive Director.
The Executive Director position will be a five-year initial appointment associated with one of the member institutions and is renewable. Salary will be commensurate with that for Canadian full professors at top-tier universities and with equivalent positions at comparable science and research facilities. Qualified candidates may also be offered an academic appointment at Queen's University or Carleton University, subject to appropriate appointment processes.
Consideration of candidates will begin immediately and the deadline for submission is September 24th, 2021. The initial interviews will be undertaken using video-conference technology with subsequent interviews taking place on-site at SNOLAB if conditions permit.
|
|
Thank you for your support. If you would like to view past newsletters from the McDonald Institute, please visit the: Newsletter Archive.
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 the traditional territories where astroparticle physicists are grateful to live and work across Canada.
|
|
Join us on our social media channels |
|
If you would not like to receive the McDonald Institute Newsletter, please click the link below or use the Update Profile link at the bottom of this email:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
