We wanted to get one last newsletter out to you before the holidays, as we know how busy things get. There's a few opportunities in this edition with deadlines in January, so hopefully this will give you a bit of advanced notice to prepare.



Happy Holidays!

Here's to clear night skies illuminated with kindness, understanding and peace.

Wishing you and all your relations a safe and healthy winter break.

The artwork for our holiday card this year is by Theresa Brant, an artist from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory Ontario, whose artistic journey began in the midst of the pandemic. "I am guided by the influence of my son," says Theresa, "I found solace in the vibrant embrace of acrylic paints." Theresa titled this piece "Sister'sLoveWalk" and she explains that the painting "represents the stars and moon like Sisters, share a cosmic journey. They reflect the enduring strength and unity found in the deep connections of Sisterhood within Aboriginal traditions."

Follow Theresa Brant on Facebook and Instagram.

Astronomy on Tap is a series of worldwide events in which professional astronomers give informal talks at a local bar on topics of a broad interest in astronomy and astrophysics. This particular event will be a bit different than in the past – we will host two fantastic astronomers/astroparticle physicists: Mark Richardson and Steve Sekula who will go head-to-head in a debate over theory vs experiment. The event will be hosted by local astro-buff, Nik Arora. There will be time for questions and discussion, and the speakers and other local scientists will mingle with the audience between and after the talks, providing lots of opportunities to chat with some keen astronomers. There will also be a trivia session with questions related to astronomy with prizes given out to the winners!

Visit the event page for more information

McDonald Institute EDII Website Launch! 

We're pleased to announce the launch of our new website for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization. This platform is intended to be a hub for resources and tools curated for the astroparticle physics community to support their research and training environments. We recognize that EDII principles are geographic and evolving; discussion and principles of EDII are not the same across Canada (or to our partners internationally). This website will be updated periodically to offer new information and resources as they become available to the community. 

Introducing the Diversity and Equity Assessment Planning (DEAP) Tool for Researchers 

As part of the launch of the EDII website, access to the pilot DEAP Tool for Researchers is now available in workbook form for members of the astroparticle physics community. This self-assessment tool is co-developed with the support of the Queen’s University Human Rights and Equity Office and intended for use by faculty and research scientists. The DEAP Tool offers an iterative process for developing EDII capacity in lab or research group spaces. When used effectively, the impacts of the DEAP Tool could be translated into grant applications, such as the NSERC Discovery Grant, to support faculty funding for HQP training.



If you are interested in learning more about the DEAP Tool and its use, please see our website and contact Dr. Alexandra Pedersen (Manager for EDII Capacity Development at alexandra.pedersen@mcdonaldinstitute.ca) for further support. 

McDonald Institute Student Achievement Awards

The McDonald Institute is offering 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 (Deadline is Dec. 22th, 2023 at 12h00 EDT).

To be eligible for consideration:

• Nominees must have been enrolled as a student at a Canadian post-secondary institution during calendar 2023. This applies to any college or university undergraduate or graduate student meeting this criterion.
• Nominees’ significant work or achievements for award consideration occurred between January 1, 2023 and December 22, 2023. Nominators may reference the continuing impact of eligible work or achievements beyond December 22, 2022.
• Nominees’ eligible achievements and contributions have benefited, or will be likely to benefit, any portion of the Canadian astroparticle physics community beyond than the nominee themself. The work must benefit any portion of the Canadian public for the Outreach & Education category.
• Nominees have not been recognized by a McDonald Institute HQP Acheivement award in the same category within the last three calendar years.

This year, the McDonald Institute will consider nominations for awards in four categories (below). Nominations are submitted using a private online survey and are adjudicated by award committees of no less than one McDonald Institute administrative officer and two astroparticle physicists employed in Canada. Award winners are announced in early February 2024.

Please take five minutes of your time to nominate a deserving student award candidate in any of the three categories below:

Research Contribution (Click HERE to submit a nomination)

This recognition is suitable for a student whose scholarly work has significantly advanced particle astrophysics research in the last year. Examples might include a novel model or methodology, prototype design, important publication or outstanding thesis submission.

Outreach & Education (Click HERE to submit a nomination)

This recognition honours a student who has made a major contribution to the public’s understanding and appreciation of particle astrophysics and adjacent disciplines. Examples might include organizing duties in a summer camp program, interpretation of research for public audiences, public speaking accomplishments, or advocacy for Canadian astroparticle physics research.

Equity Leadership (Click HERE to submit a nomination)

This recognition is applicable to any student whose leadership advances inclusion and belonging of a socially diverse talent pool within Canadian astroparticle physics research. It recognizes leadership in community directed organization, research or service oriented toward improved engagement, recruitment, development and retention of research talent among under-represented groups (definable by any combination of social identities informed by Indigeneity, gender, race, sexual orientation or disability). Examples of such work might include advocacy, social research, specific organizational interventions, equity program design or delivery. The adjudicators of this award will include one or more external diversity and inclusion specialists.

Innovation Leadership (Click HERE to submit a nomination)

This recognition is applicable to any student whose novel approaches to problem solving have yielded benefit to the Canadian astroparticle physics community. Nominations must demonstrate how the student’s interventions have influenced the actions/planning of other members of the community. This award recognizes both ingenuity and the ability to motivate others toward common goals. Examples could include the organization of colleagues to address research problems of common interest, meeting a need of the community in a novel manner, or the utilization of existing knowledge in a manner that allows for novel technical, research or educational value creation.

NOTE:

Nominators may submit more than one nomination form. Eligible nominees may be forwarded for consideration in multiple award categories, but each nomination must be unique.

Cross-Disciplinary Internship Program - OPEN

The Cross-Disciplinary Internship (CDI) program provides a salary reimbursement for full- or part-time students registered in non-physics majors to participate in astroparticle physics research. Student applicants can be enrolled in any post-secondary level; college diploma, undergraduate, or graduate studies. This program links students with leading astroparticle physics researchers in Canada for opportunities to expand research collaborations, knowledge, and research-based skills.

Previous participants in the Cross-Disciplinary Internship program have come from a wide variety of research fields, including chemical engineering, education, neuroscience, Microbiology and Oceanography, Mathematics, and Computer Science. The research projects provide a unique opportunity for students and faculty to explore a variety of possibilities in and around the science.



HQP Pooled Resources Round 10 Competition – OPEN

This round of the HQP pooled resource competition aims to fund undergraduate astroparticle physics researchers working in Canada with a start date in May 2024 for the summer period. Funding for positions is available to those pursuing astroparticle physics research in Canada aligned with the McDonald Institute Research Strategy.



Congratulations to David Sinclair!

Earlier this month, David Sinclair was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Carleton University.

Sinclair played a leading role in the SNO (Sudbury Neutrino Experiment) and is one of the founding members of SNOLAB.

Read more on the SNOLAB website here.



McDonald Institute HQP Advisory Committee Call for Members

The McDonald Institute Highly Qualified Personnel Advisory Committee (HQPAC) is looking for new 2023-24 committee members.

The committee's goal is to act as the voice of the student and early career researcher community and provide the McDonald Institute with guidance regarding goals, challenges, and where resources and support are needed most. The Committee is provided a small fund through the Institute to support program development and, in the past, has produced such community initiatives as MINTERACT and the Community Art Challenge.

Image created with the assistance of AI (Midjourney v5)

If you are interested in joining or would like to nominate someone else as a committee member, please reach out to Zac Kenny at communications@mcdonaldinstitute.ca

More information on the 2022 HQPAC here.



CAPSS 2024 - Save The Date

The Canadian Astroparticle Physics Summer School (CAPSS) is a free week-long undergraduate school that will introduce students to the current topics in the field of astroparticle physics. The school is held at Queen’s University and then underground at SNOLAB. CAPSS will be held May 5 - May 11, 2024. The application period closes on Feb 9, so check out this link for more information: https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/capss/capss-info/.



GRIDS 2024 - Save the Date!

GRIDS 2024 - Save The Date

The Graduate Instrumentation and Detector School (GRIDS) is a two-week summer school started in 2018 for graduate students and new post-docs in nuclear, particle, and astroparticle physics to get hands-on training with the detector and instrumentation technology used in modern experiments. It is aimed primarily for those students and postdocs with limited experience with experimental hardware. GRIDS 2024 will be held June 3rd - 14th, 2024. The application period will open soon and close in late February 2024. More information can be found here: grids.trumf.ca.



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!



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. Reach out to Zac Kenny at communications@mcdonaldinstitute.ca for more information.

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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