TITAN was first proposed in 2002 as a spectrometer for short-lived isotopes using a Penning trap.  The critical component that provides the “charge-state boosting” is the electron beam ion trap (EBIT).  Canada had limited expertise in the design and construction of an EBIT, and one had never before been coupled to a rare-isotope beam facility. These challenges were overcome thanks to TRIUMF’s connection to the Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPI-K) in Heidelberg, Germany.  A joint project was initiated and a memorandum of understanding was signed outlining the tasks of the two partners, MPI-K and TRIUMF.  TRIUMF provided expertise for coupling trap systems to an accelerator-based beam line, and MPI-K contributed its unique EBIT expertise. 

During the entire two-year construction and commissioning phase, the TITAN group stationed a post-doctoral researcher and a graduate student in Heidelberg.  Both the student and the post-doc have returned to Canada, bringing their newly acquired expertise.  A group from Heidelberg came to help set up their equipment and integrate it into the TITAN experiment.  A second Canadian post-doctoral researcher, who had previously worked at Heidelberg, is now in charge of the TITAN-EBIT and brings unique expertise to TRIUMF.  In the meantime, having successfully operated the system at TRIUMF, the researchers from MPI-K are planning to carry out experiments in Vancouver.  Moreover, upgrades at ISAC-II now foresee an EBIT charge breeder based on the local expertise gained from this international collaboration.