Issue 33, June 21st, 2022

Greetings,
Happy pride month to our 2SLGBTQ+ community members! We hope you are having an identity-affirming month.

We have lots of news and opportunities to share with you. As always, please consider joining the Canadian Astroparticle Physics LinkedIn group. The group is a place to share and create opportunities for the community, and connect with others in the field.


Annual National Meeting of the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Community

The McDonald Institute is inviting researchers to meet in Toronto on August 4-5, 2022, for its 4th Annual National Meeting of the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Community.


The meeting will include a discussion of the McDonald Institute's upcoming CFREF application and an emphasis on leadership development for post-doctoral researchers. We will host a catered evening social on August 4 at the DRIFT: Art and Dark Matter exhibit at the University of Toronto's Justina M. Barnicke Gallery. DRIFT is the nationally touring exhibition commissioned by the McDonald Institute and Agnes Ethering Art Gallery with the co-sponsorship of SNOLAB. The event will include guided tours of the exhibit (and we will be encouraging several of our international colleagues in Toronto at that time to join us). 

To attend, either in-person or online via several of the scheduled hybrid sessions, please RSVP.

Photo from The Bulk: Frameworks (2022), by Jol Thoms, presented as part of the DRIFT exhibit.

Congratulations to 2022 CAP congress DPP/DTP student award finalists
The McDonald Institute congratulates Ph.D. candidates Soud Al Kharusi (McGill University), Karen Macias Cardenas (Queen’s University), and Daniel Durnford (University of Alberta) who were finalists in the best oral and poster student competitions at the 2022 CAP congress. Soud was nominated for their poster titled Simulating nEXO’s Outer Detector with Chroma and was awarded the second-place prize in the particle physics division and first place overall. Karen was nominated for their talk Dark Matter-neutrino interactions through one loop diagrams. They won first place in the theoretical physics division, and earned an honorable mention overall. Daniel was nominated for their talk The NEWS-G light Dark Matter search experiment: Current status and preparation for experiment at SNOLAB. They were awarded the first-place prize in the particle physics division, and third overall. Great work all!


The Research Partnership-Building Workshops program aims to mobilize astroparticle physics researchers working in Canada by supporting novel workshops, training events, or short-term visits that either initiate or expand opportunities for eligible research or training partnerships.

To read more about eligible programs or to apply, visit the McDonald Institute webpage.

Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer School wrap-up
The 2022 Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer School (CAPSS) was held May 9-13, 2022. Twenty-one undergraduate students from North and South America came together at Queen’s University to participate in lectures and experiments, a virtual SNOLAB tour, and the SNO masterclass. There were also many opportunities to meet with graduate students and faculty, including Nobel Laureate Art McDonald, and socialize with each other. Overall, the summer school was a great success, establishing networks between students, their peers, and the McDonald Institute faculty. We look forward to engaging with these students in the years to come. For those interested in CAPSS, keep an eye out for the 2023 call for applications in October.


The Graduate Student Exchange Program allows graduate students at a recognized Canadian academic institution to travel and work with another research group for up to six months to gain experience and bring new knowledge back to their home research group. This program is also open to international students coming to a recognized Canadian academic institution. This opportunity is limited to applicants studying Astroparticle physics or a related field. Application for partnership-development visits (of no less than two weeks duration) that could potentially lead to an exchange may also be granted.

Eligibility.
The applicant must be:
A graduate student enrolled at a recognized Canadian academic institution travelling within Canada or internationally, OR
An international graduate student coming to a recognized Canadian Institution

This opportunity is limited to applicants studying astroparticle physics or a related field being applied to the advancement of astroparticle physics.

Visit the Mcdonald Institute Funding Opportunities web page for more information.

The McDonald Institute welcomes our new Finance Officer
We’d like to welcome Greg Ridge as the new McDonald Institute Finance Officer! Greg provides financial management and accountability for the McDonald Institute grant funds. He has a background in business, specializing in managerial accounting, and has previously worked in provincial politics both in Kingston and at Queen’s Park in Toronto. He is an alumnus of Queen’s for his BA and has a BBA from Laurentian University. He is currently completing his MPA through Queen’s. We're thrilled to have him on our team! 


Explore opportunities in astroparticle physics!
The Careers in Astroparticle Physics website features jobs, research positions, and other career-building opportunities in the field in a highly discoverable way. Prospective and current students can easily find current postings to take their careers to the next step, or just to keep them inspired and optimistic about their future.


We hope you find this community resource helpful!


Connect with the community:

Share some new research or ask a question to the community at the Canadian Astroparticle Physics LinkedIn Group

For the latest physics memes, pet photos, and virtual conference chatrooms, always feel free to say "hi" in the McDonald Institute HQP Community Discord

Do you have a recent result or publication that you would like shared with the Canadian Astroparticle Physics network and beyond? Send your work to CJ ([email protected]) to have it featured in our Science News series!
Science News is intended for students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and research associates actively working in astroparticle physics to quickly digest updates and progress in areas that are not directly connected to their specific project(s).

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.

Thank you for your support. If you would like to view past newsletters from the McDonald Institute, please visit the: Newsletter Archive.







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