TRIUMF Member Queen’s University Lands Prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chair in Particle Astrophysics
Today, the Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State for Science and Technology, announced Dr. Gilles Gerbier as the new Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in particle astrophysics at Queen’s University, a TRIUMF member institution.
Dr. Gerbier is a world-renowned astrophysicist undertaking an ambitious research program to unlock the mystery of dark matter in our universe. Prior to joining Queen’s Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Dr. Gerbier served as Director of Research at the Saclay Nuclear Research Centre in France, and he is widely known for his pioneering work in techniques aimed at detecting as yet elusive dark matter.
The highly prestigious CERC award provides Queen’s University with up to $10 million in funding over seven years to support Dr. Gerbier’s research program. In addition to this funding, Queen’s also will receive $800,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for the development of the requisite research infrastructure. Operating since 2008, the CERC program aims to attract world-leading researchers to Canada, and with this announcement the program currently supports 20 chairs at 15 universities across the country.
Dr. Steven Liss, Vice-Principal (Research) at Queen’s University and Chair of TRIUMF’s Board of Management, stated that “attracting Dr. Gerbier—one of the world’s leading particle astrophysicists —to Queen’s University offers tremendous benefits, not only for our scholarly community, but for all Canadians.” In recent years, TRIUMF has worked closely with the SNOLAB laboratory in Sudbury, Ontario to advance the search of dark matter, and now with Dr. Gerbier’s expertise, Canadian scientists hope to move even closer to unlocking some of the mysteries in this area.
Congratulations again to Dr. Gilles Gerbier and Queen’s University!
– Content and photo taken from a a CERC Press Release and CERC Spotlight.