It's all eclipse all the time from now until the moment of glorious totality on April 8th. Here are a few of the many fantastic outreach events that our team is involved in. | |
If you know of an opportunity, event, or recent science milestone, please forward it to communications@mcdonaldinstitute.ca so that we can share it here, or through our other channels. | |
March 25 - Total Eclipse of the Arts (Hybrid) | |
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An evening of student-written plays in anticipation of the total solar eclipse!
This one-night-only event will feature a staged-reading of seven, 10-minute plays, written, dramaturged and directed by students of the DAN School of Drama and Music in collaboration with the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy at Queen’s University. From the first eclipse ever to love stories under celestial chariots, don’t miss this exploration through time, space, and back again!
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Professor Sarah Waisvisz addresses the students during a run through of the eclipse plays. | |
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Whether attending the event in person, on enjoying via livestream, please register here.
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March 27 - IGnite: Research Stories to Inspire Generations (hybrid)
Be inspired by stories of discovery from researchers at Queen’s University. Astronomer Kristine Spekkens and Historian Daryn Lehoux will be telling their research stories with everyone in mind. IGnite hopes to be the spark that inspires you and your family to keep learning, and seek out answers to your own questions.
Come hear Daryn talk about how eclipses help us uncover how ancient science was done, and Kristine talk about how she uses the largest telescopes in the world to find nearly invisible gas throughout the Universe.
Click here for more information and free registration
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April 3 - 101 Ways to Experience an Eclipse
Explore humanity's evolving fascination with eclipses, from ancient understanding to modern interpretations. Over 2,000 years of history have shaped humanity's perception of and interaction with eclipses. Join Queen's Department of Physics for a fascinating exploration of how cultures, science, and society have embraced this rare celestial event — all inspiration for how you can choose to experience the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, in Kingston.
For more information and registration, click here.
Not able to join Mark Richardson and Nik Arora at the Kingston Public Library for this event? Check out their recent joint publication in The Conversation here:
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April 8 - Total Solar Eclipse! | |
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On April 8th, 2024, parts of Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada will experience the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. Universities in the path of totality and many experiencing a partial eclipse are making sure that everyone can enjoy the spectacle safely by providing free eclipse glasses.
Queen's University has purchased 120,000 glasses and eclipse viewers which will be available on campus starting on March 25th. Visit the Queen's Eclipse website for glasses pickup locations. Be sure to bring your student/staff ID.
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LAST CALL! Student Achievement Award Nominations
Do you know of a current or recently-graudated student deserving special recognition? The McDonald Institute is accepting nominations recognizing student contributions to the Canadian astroparticle physics community.
The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, March 22nd!
The awards include a $250 honorarium and certificate of award.
For more information and to view award eligibility and the four award categories, please visit the student awards website.
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Have you recently read an EDII-focused article, book, or resource that you would like to share with the broader community? Please reach out to Alexandra Pedersen (alexandra.pedersen@mcdonaldinstitute.ca) to share and/or provide feedback about the resource’s relevance to the astroparticle physics community.
Here are some examples of articles and books to get the community started! We hope to have a recurring feature in our newsletter sharing resources across the network!
New Article from the Canada Physics Counts survey:
Eden J. Hennessey, Anastasia Smolina, Skye Hennessey, Adrianna Tassone, Alex Jay, Shohini Ghose, Kevin Hewitt. 2024. Canadian Physics Counts: An exploration of the diverse identities of physics students and professionals in Canada. Arxiv, March 7. Available from: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.04679
New publication highlighting EDI at research facilities:
Erica Caden, Samantha Kuula, Rochelle Zens. 2024. Enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in physics: perspectives from North American Underground Laboratories. Frontiers in Physics. 11:1340272. doi: 10.3389/fphy.2023.1340272
Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2023.1340272/full
Support for diverse PhD pathways:
Leela Viswanathan. 2023. The Deliberate Doctorate: A values-Focused Journey to your PhD. UBC Press: Vancouver: ISBN:9780774839112
Available from: https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-deliberate-doctorate
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Highlighting Women Trailblazers in Astroparticle Physics for International Women’s Day:
On March 8th, the astroparticle physics group at Queen’s University celebrated International Women’s Day with a lunch a cake of Dr. Alice Vibert Douglas (1894-1988). Dr. Alex Pedersen gave a short presentation on Women Astroparticle Physicists at Queen’s and focused on Dr. Douglas valuable contributions to physics and astronomy in Canada and internationally, as well as her dedication to supporting women in engineering, science, and medicine. Dr. Douglas is featured as a Forces of Nature: Great Women Who Changed Science (Perimeter Institute), and is also noted in several historic archives at Queen’s University, including the university’s encyclopedia.
Alex shared a reading of Dr. Douglas’ obituary, written by Dr. Peter M. Millman, published in The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (vol. 82, No. 6, 1988).
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McDonald Institute Visiting Scientist Program | |
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The Visiting Scientist Program offers financial reimbursement for researchers seeking to enhance their work through research visits, ranging from 2 to 12 months, in aggregate. Recognizing the diverse needs of researchers, the program offers the flexibility to structure visits according to individual requirements, including multiple shorter-term or multi-location visits.
The program is designed to complement, not replace normal supports provided by host institutions. Participants can receive up to $15,000 in reimbursement. This can cover either eligible travel and accommodation expenses, or provide subsistence support equal to half of any salary reduction (e.g., sabbatical year salary adjustments).
Applications are now open, with awards given until the budget is fully committed. We encourage interested researchers to apply early to take advantage of this opportunity https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/visiting-scientist-exchange/
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When: Saturday, April 13th, 10am – 4pm, lunch provided.
Where: Stirling Hall, Queen’s University and Online
Who: For high school students and early undergrads.
Apply by: April 1st. Free to participate
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a located at the South Pole, Antarctica. While most of us will never have the chance to visit the facility, the IceCube Masterclass provides young students with a chance to learn more about our Universe, meet IceCube researchers, exchange ideas with their peers, and do science!
We are excited to invite our young students—our future scientists—to learn about particle astrophysics by doing real research.
Click here for more information
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The 2024 Tri-Institute Summer School on Elementary Particles (TRISEP) will be held July 8-19, 2024 at SNOLAB and Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON, Canada.
TRISEP is an international summer school organized jointly by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, SNOLAB, and TRIUMF (Canada’s laboratory for particle and nuclear physics). TRISEP will feature lectures by leading experts in the field of particle physics in its broadest sense and is designed to be very interactive with ample time for questions, discussions and interaction with the speakers.
The school is intended for graduate students of all levels who were already exposed to quantum field theory.
Applications to attend TRISEP will open on February 12. Requests for financial assistance are vetted on a case-by-case basis and application for funding is not guaranteed.
For more details and application information, visit the TRISEP website.
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Explore opportunities in astroparticle physics!
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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.
View the Careers website.
We hope you find this community resource helpful!
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Would you like to be more involved in the research community? We invite motivated students and early career researchers to participate in the McDonald Institute Highly Qualified Personnel Advisory Committee (HQPAC). The committee meets regularly to discuss issues and strategize long-term goals for ways to enhance the experience of everyone in astroparticle physics.
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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