Newswise — March 22, 2018 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – This morning, March 22, TRIUMF welcomed Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, as part of her first official visit to British Columbia.
A scientist and engineer, Her Excellency seemed right at home among TRIUMF’s community of innovators, who were particularly enthused to welcome the Governor General as they celebrate TRIUMF’s 50th anniversary throughout 2018.
Her Excellency met with TRIUMF staff and students and as she toured a portion of the 13-acre site, starting with the Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory (ARIEL) – a flagship project for Canadian discovery and innovation and one of the great scientific facilities under construction in the world. Once complete, ARIEL will take TRIUMF and Canada far into the future, providing leading‐edge capacity that will advance science, medicine, and business.
Her tour then took her to one of TRIUMF’s experimental halls, known as ISAC (Isotope Separator and Accelerator Complex), where she saw how TRIUMF’s staff and students are using rare isotope beams to make discoveries addressing some of the most fundamental questions in science, including profound mysteries surrounding the origins of matter – mysteries that connect quarks to the cosmos.
From there, she explored some of the ways TRIUMF bridges science and society as she conversed with members of the laboratory’s Life Sciences and TRIUMF Innovations teams. These groups are leveraging TRIUMF’s strengths in basic research to deliver real-world social and economic benefits for Canadians, such as developing critical medical isotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening diseases, to providing on-site radiation testing facilities for the aerospace and telecommunications industries, and much more.
Her Excellency’s tour concluded in TRIUMF’s iconic Meson Hall, home to the world’s largest cyclotron particle accelerator – an IEEE Engineering Milestone and the heartbeat of TRIUMF’s science program – where she was greeted by hundreds of staff and students. The Governor General joined them for a photo, and then shared some words about her visit and offered congratulations to the TRIUMF community on its accomplishments and anniversary.
“It matters, what I have just seen in a very few minutes here at TRIUMF,” said Her Excellency Mme. Payette. “I knew about TRIUMF and it still amazes me seeing you today, that you are at the very forefront of the frontier of knowledge and yet you are very practical. You are so important to help people every day and for this I hope you are very proud.” The TRIUMF community was thrilled to have the opportunity to host Her Excellency and share with her some of its multidisciplinary science and technology, leading-edge facilities, and passion to continue the quest for discovery and innovation.
“I am so very proud of what the TRIUMF community has accomplished – of what we’ve achieved together and through our network of partners across Canada and around the world,” said Dr. Jonathan Bagger, TRIUMF’s Director. “Together, we are truly more than the sum of our parts. And personally, I couldn’t be more excited for the future.” If you'd like to learn more about TRIUMF's 50th-anniversary events and programming, please visit www.triumf50.com
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Lisa Lambert
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About TRIUMF
TRIUMF is Canada’s particle accelerator centre. The lab is a hub for discovery and innovation inspired by a half-century of ingenuity in answering nature's most challenging questions. From the hunt for the smallest particles in our universe to research that advances the next generation of batteries or develops isotopes to diagnose and treat disease, TRIUMF drives more than scientific discovery. Powered by its complement of top talent and advanced accelerator infrastructure, TRIUMF is pushing the frontiers in isotope science and innovation, as well as technologies to address fundamental and applied problems in particle and nuclear physics, and the materials and life sciences. In collaboration with 20 Canadian universities, TRIUMF's diverse community of nearly 600 multidisciplinary researchers, engineers, technicians, tradespeople, staff, and students create a unique incubator for Canadian excellence, as well as a portal to premier global collaborations. Our passion for understanding everything from the nature of the nucleus to the creation of the cosmos sparks imagination, inspiration, improved health, economic opportunity, and a better world for all.
For more information, visit www.triumf.ca and www.triumf50.com. @TRIUMFLab
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