This summer, three bright young students from British Columbia were welcomed to TRIUMF for a six-week hands-on fellowship with TRIUMF researchers. Each year, recently graduated high-school students apply to the program hoping to gain up close andpersonal experience at a national laboratory.
Students are selected based on academic achievement, as well as their strength in communication and enthusiasm for science, physics inparticular. This year (pictured from left) Keiler, Benjamin, and Lloyd were chosen from a pool of over 60 applicants for their strong potential in the fields of physics and engineering.
Having just graduated from Saint Michael's Secondary School in Victoria, Keiler (second from right) was paired with Ken Buckley in TRIUMF's Nuclear Medicine division to assemble and test a mechanical transport system for use in the remote handling of Molybdenum-100 target capsules for the production of technetium-99m in small, hospital-grade cyclotrons. Keiler specifically worked on testing the limitations of the system in order to find weaknesses and improve upon them. Having previously developed remote-operated vehicles for use at Canada's Chalk River facility, Keiler is set for tremendous success as he begins his Bachelor's Degree in Engineering at the University of Cambridge this fall. |  |
As he transitions from South Kamloops Secondary to Thompson Rivers University this fall, Benjamin (left) was impressed by the international and interdisciplinary collaborations that occur on a daily basis at TRIUMF. Working under Dr. Ruediger Picker and the TRIUMF High-Voltage EDM (THE) Lab, Benjamin helped the team implement a graphical programming language to acquire data readings from different instruments within the Ultra-Cold Neutron Source. The experimental team at TRIUMF works closely with researchers from Germany and Japan, as well as other North American universities. Benjamin was invited to sit in meetings with the researchers and experience the kind of collaboration required to build a new experiment. Because of this, Benjamin is hopeful that he may be able to return to TRIUMF one day as a co-operative education student to further collaborate at the laboratory. |  |
| Lloyd, too, was impressed by the collaborative environment at TRIUMF, as well as the variety of experiments that are housed at the facility. Under the guidance of Dr. Fabrice Retiere, Lloyd was tasked with analyzing data within the control system of a new spectrometer that will be installed in TRIUMF's μSR experiment within the Centre for Molecular and Materials Science. The new silicon spectrometer works under a wide range of operating conditions and the team is working to evaluate the best parameters for obtaining valid experimental data. Lloyd was excited by the experience of seeing familiar physics formulas transferred into practice, and all of the different technologies that are involved in exploring the fundamental building blocks of our universe. He hopes this experience will prove beneficial as he takes up residence at the Imperial College of London to study theoretical physics this fall. |  |
TRIUMF congratulates all three students on their successful fellowships, and wishes them the best of luck as they begin their studies in the fall!
--Ariane Madden, TRIUMF Communications Assistant |