News Release | For Immediate Release | April 18, 2011
(Vancouver, BC) — At its recent Board of Management meeting, TRIUMF approved the University of Winnipeg as
an associate member of the consortium of 17 universities that owns and operates Canada’s national laboratory for
particle and nuclear physics.
Paul Young, Chair of the Board and Vice President for Research at the University of Toronto, said, “TRIUMF is a
national enterprise that leverages the combined strengths of Canada’s great universities. The University of Winnipeg
is a welcome addition. ”
The university’s closer association with TRIUMF will allow it to participate in discussions about setting the direction
of the laboratory as well as enhanced partnerships for new research infrastructure that strengthens efforts on the
University of Winnipeg campus. Dr. Neil Besner, Vice-President, Research and International, at the University of
Winnipeg, said, “The University of Winnipeg is honoured to have been approved for associate membership to the
TRIUMF consortium. We are excited about the opportunities this will bring to our researchers and institution, and
look forward to a new level of research excellence.”
The University of Winnipeg has been informally involved in TRIUMF for several decades through some of the
original experiments in particle and nuclear physics as well the materials-science facilities. In 2008, Professor Jeff
Martin began discussions with two laboratories in Japan and TRIUMF in Canada to formulate a new national
initiative for understanding the properties of the neutron with a premier research facility known as the Ultra-Cold
Neutron Source. Under his leadership, a proposal to the Canada Foundation for Innovation was prepared and
successfully awarded $4.225 million. The three-way Memorandum of Understanding among TRIUMF, Winnipeg,
and the Japanese laboratories was formally approved in February 2011.
Professor Martin said, “The completion of cutting-edge physics research at TRIUMF is a great opportunity for me,
and for my colleagues from the University of Winnipeg and elsewhere. TRIUMF is an important resource for all
researchers in my field throughout Canada and the rest of the world. The approval for associate membership in
TRIUMF demonstrates the University of Winnipeg's rising leadership in physics research in Canada.”
Nigel S. Lockyer, director of TRIUMF, commented, “TRIUMF is about excellence in research and connecting leading
university researchers to the world. The University of Winnipeg’s ultra-cold neutron project is a perfect example of
how we can work together to keep Canadian science relevant—and competitive. We look forward to working more
closely with their excellent team.”
TRIUMF’s core operations are supported via a contribution through National Research Council Canada with
additional funding from CIHR, CFI, NRCan, NSERC, and WD. The Government of British Columbia has provided
building capital funds.
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Media Contacts
Tim Meyer | Diane Poulin University of Winnipeg Cell: 650.464.8955 Tel: 204.988.7135 E-mail: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca |