TRIUMF Research Impact

Impact of research conducted or enabled by TRIUMF

TRIUMF’s work and research has significant impact through the creation of  scientific knowledge, the enabling of national and international collaborations, the fostering of innovation and growth of the economy, and the advancement of science education and outreach. With our unique accelerator infrastructure, TRIUMF enables cutting-edge research across a multitude of disciplines. Our experts deliver key contributions to experiments in Canada and around the world, which in turn further our understanding of the origins of the elements, the functions of quantum materials, and even the inner workings of our brains. From these discoveries, we can create innovations that provide benefits in science, medicine, and business.

*Updated July 2024*

Since our founding in 1968, TRIUMF has:

• Made key contributions to Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the ATLAS detector at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, which led to the discovery of the long-theorized Higgs boson, the particle which gives all other particles their mass
• Led the Canadian contribution to the Tokai to Kamioka (T2K) long-baseline neutrino experiment in Japan
• Become a world-leader in the production of rare isotope beams, used to examine the nuclear reactions that take place in stars and star explosions. This impact leverages TRIUMF's Advanced Rare Isotope Laboratory, ARIEL, wich is one of the world's only purpose-built multi-user rare isotope facility and the world’s most powerful Isotope Separation Online (ISOL) complex.
• Advanced understanding of brain health, and led to the development of radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and treating disease
• Delivered over 50 million patient doses of medical isotopes around the world, through our 40-year+ commercial partnership with global BWXT Medical (formerly Nordion)
• Played a leading role in an international consortium that designed and built a low-cost ventilator for use in hospitals in response to the COVID-19; the resulting MVM Ventilator received Health Canada approval and was purchased by the Government of Canadian to combat the pandemic
• Spearheaded a team that developed non-reactor based techniques for producing 99mTc, winning a NSERC Brockhouse Prize in 2015 for the project, and ultimately receiving  Health Canada approval in November 2020
• Established IAMI, the Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes, a state-of-the-art facility for research into next-generation, life-saving medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, located on the TRIUMF campus
• Created and supported spin-off companies using TRIUMF-developed technologies for applications in mining, medical imaging, and other industries
• Trained thousands of students from across Canada and around the world in a range of disciplines, including particle and nuclear physics, engineering, materials and life sciences, data science, business, and communications
• With TRIUMF Innovations, supported the development of the Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem (CMIE) for Canadian patients. 
• Established a variety of scholarships and unique researcher opportunities that support the advancement of equity, diversity, and inclusion (in STEM).
• Continued to expand our member university base from coast-to-coast to better represent a diversity of Canadian perspectives and participation in our science program.

Metrics for facility, including number of researchers using the facility, products delivered