Better late than never!

You may have noticed that we usually send the McDonald Institute newsletter on the second Tuesday of the month. This month, we had some interruptions to the service for our website and institutional email accounts. We worked as quickly as possible to get the issues resolved and apologize for any inconvenience. This newsletter is coming to you later in the month as a result. If you attempted to contact someone from the Institute through an @mcdonaldinstitute.ca email address and have yet to receive a response, kindly resend the email. Our systems are working properly now, and your email will be received.

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. 



SAVE THE DATE: August 8-10

Celebrating Astroparticle Physics Research Progress:

National Meeting at Queen's University

We are delighted to invite you to the National Meeting at Queen's University from August 8-10, celebrating the exceptional research progress achieved over the past seven years in astroparticle physics. This event, encompassing a dozen international collaborations and numerous theoretical breakthroughs, is open to all members of the Canadian astroparticle physics research community. 

The meeting will feature morning research keynotes and update presentations, followed by afternoon plenary sessions addressing long-term community priorities for science support, equitable working environments, HQP career mobility, and funding strategies. These sessions are designed to keep you informed about the overall research progress of the national community and to actively engage you in the Institute's planning for its next decade of work. 

We are particularly dedicated to promoting HQP involvement in the national meeting and will offer substantial financial travel reimbursement support to eligible students, postdocs, and associates upon request. 

Please visit https://indico.cern.ch/event/1280336/ to register and learn more about the meeting.



SNOLAB Virtual Seminars

MAY 1, 2023 @ 1pm

Makoto Fujiwara - Casting Light on Antimatter: Fundamental Physics with Bottle Antihydrogen Atoms

https://laurentian.zoom.us/j/99275517447?pwd=RXlheDRVOGJ6emxxNXA4M3hOa0Zwdz09

MAY 29, 2023 @ 1pm

Nahee Park - Probing the origin of high-energy particles in our Universe with IceCube

https://laurentian.zoom.us/j/99275517447?pwd=RXlheDRVOGJ6emxxNXA4M3hOa0Zwdz09

The 5th SummEr PartIclE AstrophysIcs WOrkshOp (EIEIOO)

This workshop series is directed at incoming undergraduate and master's students new to the field of particle astrophysics. Any individuals with an interest in the material (or looking to refresh their skills) are welcome to join for any aspects of the workshop. No prior knowledge is required for participants to attend.

Sessions consist of introductory lectures, experimental talks, and coding workshops. We are excited to announce we have over thirty speakers, and the timetable is now available!

The workshop is running in hybrid form this year. All sessions will be broadcast live over zoom with closed captioning enabled. Speakers at Queen's University will present in person in Stirling Hall with live streaming over the same zoom line. Lectures will be recorded and made available after the workshop.

Register now and stay tuned for more information.



Farewell to McDonald Institute Managing Director Donald Bédard 

After an all too brief appointment as Managing Director of the McDonald Institute, Dr. Donald Bédard has accepted a position at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels to assist in the development and implementation of new space capabilities for the Alliance. “It was a difficult decision,” explains Don, “as I really enjoy the team here and working with the astroparticle physics community.” The new position is just too enticing to pass up for Don; “It offers new and interesting challenges that will push me forward, and where my expertise will be uniquely impactful.”

The McDonald Institute has had a demanding six months, and we were very fortunate to have Don join our team in October of last year. His years of work in military operations management and research administration helped the Institute make important strategic pivots and establish operational priorities for the 2023-25 period. He has also been instrumental in facilitating the financial stability of the Institute through this next phase of operation. 

While Don’s presence will be missed, the current administrative team is highly experienced and will transition to a shared management structure. The team is looking forward to this new dynamic and are excited to work together to support the astroparticle physics research community in the best way possible. 

The McDonald Institute wishes Don and his family the very best on their new adventures in Brussels!

The Summer of Science program (available both in-person and virtually) is for students of all backgrounds and genders from 13-18 years of age. It is a free afternoon enrichment program for a small group of high school and middle school students (including students graduating this June). Over 12 afternoon sessions, the Summer of Science program focuses on physics and the process of doing science.

The application period is now open and closes on May 19th.

For more information and details about how to apply, please visit: https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/summer-of-science/



Publications

SNO+ recently published a paper entitled "A method to load tellurium in liquid scintillator for the study of neutrinoless double beta decay."

Among the co-authors of the paper are SNOLAB researchers Shaun Hall, Christine Kraus, Steve Maguire and Szymon Manecki. The paper is set to be published in June officially but has already appeared in Nuclear Instrumental Methods A.

Published in: Nucl.Instrum.Meth.A 1051 (2023) 168204 • e-Print: 2212.12444 [physics.ins-det]



Another semester of the Professional Development Opportunities (PDO) series has come to a close.

Thank you to all those who registered and attended sessions this term!

The PDO team will be taking a hiatus to retool this summer. But you can continue your own professional development journey. McDonald Institute members (that’s you!) can access recordings of past sessions and asynchronous modules provided on behalf of the Queen’s Human Rights and Equity Office. 

If you have feedback or suggestions for future sessions of PDO - both topics in professional development as well as Tools from the Couch - we encourage you to reach out to the team: mark.richardson@mcdonaldinstitute.ca and alexandra.pedersen@mcdonaldinstitute.ca.

To continue your professional development learning, click here:

https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/professional-development/professional-development-and-learning-series/



TAUP: Call for papers

The XVIII International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP) will take place in Vienna from Aug. 28 – Sept 1. 2023.

The scientific program of the conference is divided into plenary and parallel sessions focusing on: 

• Cosmology and Particle Physics 
• Dark matter and its detection 
• Neutrino physics and astrophysics 
• Gravitational waves 
• High-energy astrophysics and cosmic rays 

A parallel session on “Underground facilities and backgrounds" will focus on underground laboratory radioactive surveys, services (screening, material assay and specialty cleaning, etc.), and facilities (cryogenics, de-radonize air systems, electro-forming, etc.). Special attention will be given to activities related to qubits performances underground. 

Researchers are invited to submit abstracts. Don’t miss the abstract submission deadline, the 1st of May 2023. For more: https://taup2023.hephy.at/deadlines/



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 at: https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/app-opportunities/

We hope you find this community resource helpful!



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.