Simon Viel (middle) shown with supervisor Oliver Stelzer-Chilton (right) and head of
Science Division Reiner Kruecken (left)
Every year, the Government of Canada selects the top graduate students studying or planning to study in Canada and awards them the three-year Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS). With a target of about 500 total Vanier scholars active each year, this means that about 166 new recipients are identified. This year, Simon Viel who studies under the joint guidance of scientist Oliver Stelzer-Chilton at TRIUMF and Professor Colin Gay at UBC, was selected as one of the elite students for his research “Search for new resonances decaying in the muon channel using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.”
Working with ATLAS, Simon analyzes data to observe the pair production of muons, in order to determine if there is any excess signal that could lead towards a new discovery. The Standard Model successfully combines together three of the forces we know: electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces (leaving aside gravity) – but there is strong theoretical and experimental evidence hinting that this description is incomplete, fueling speculation as to models with new forces. Simon’s aim is to search for new force-carrying particles. The discovery of a new force would greatly enhance our understanding of the fundamentals of our universe. Although in the absence of a discovery, exclusion limits will be set, determining more restrictions on physics beyond that of the Standard Model.
The award of a Vanier CGS adds more responsibility as this is a signal of the importance of Simon’s research from NSERC as well as the Government of Canada. He said, “It increases my motivation as it adds a positive pressure since I wish to be worthy of this award.”
Back in high school, the Quebec native was not especially interested in physics as a lot of what he was taught was older – referred to as “classical physics.” It was not until his CEGEP, a pair of years after graduating high school unique to Quebec where a student determines his or her major before entering university, that he was first exposed to modern physics. His “contemporary physics” course focused on elements of quantum mechanics and particle physics which steered him towards his current ambitions.
The Government of Canada launched the Vanier CGS in 2009 to enhance Canada’s ability to entice and retain the world’s top doctoral students. After submitting an extensive application, all nominations are subjected to a peer review evaluation by one of three agency-specific interdisciplinary Vanier Peer Review committees. The Vanier Selection Board then makes the final recommendations for the scholarships, selecting about 166 recipients. Since the inception of the program, 340 scholarships have been awarded to date; including 79 of those have been awarded to international doctoral students from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Congratulations on this prestigious award Simon, and TRIUMF looks forward to the results of your research!
-- Written by Lindsay Davies, Communications Assistant