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Happy Summer and happy Pride month! To help celebrate, we have a special giveaway included in the newsletter this month! Read on for details!
The members of the McDonald Institute Highly Qualified Personnel Advisory Committee (HQPAC) would like to remind all HQPs (graduate students, postdocs, and early career researchers) studying and working in astroparticle physics in Canada that the HQP community survey is still open. The survey aims to identify the community's priorities and sentiments to better guide the development of HQP-centered programming. Please consider taking a few minutes to provide your input here.
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McDonald Institute Annual National Meeting - Aug 7-9 & HQP Workshop Aug 6 | |
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This year’s McDonald Institute Annual National Meeting is being held in Kingston from Wednesday, August 7, to Friday, August 9. While the final agenda is still being developed, registration on the meeting’s Indico site is now open.
As in previous years, we are encouraging HQP registrants to attend a full-day career-development workshop on Tuesday, August 6 (please indicate on your registration if you will attend). This year’s workshop will focus on leadership development and proposal writing excellence with a variety of interactive group learning exercises and expert instruction. A special micro-film-fest evening social event will conclude the Aug. 6 workshop.
The Aug. 7-9 meeting will feature research and community planning updates (see Indico schedule). An evening cocktail social is planned on Aug. 7 and a full-service dinner is scheduled at the Isabel Bader Auditorium’s lakefront atrium on Aug. 8.
For those travelling more than 50 km to attend, please note that the Institute has blocked a number of air-conditioned residence rooms on Queen’s campus – please indicate your intent to reserve a residence room when you register. The Institute is supporting these accomodations at no cost to students, postdoctoral fellows, junior engineering, technical and administrative staff of partner institutions. Please note that the McDonald Institute will be providing reimbursement support for eligible caregiver and accessibility costs.
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McDonald Institute Funding Update:
The 2024 federal budget, which was released on April 16th, includes a five-year, $45.5 million commitment to the McDonald Institute. This is part of a broader allocation of $734 million aimed at supporting major research and innovation infrastructure across the country, including a $399.8 million five-year commitment to TRIUMF.
The specific terms of the McDonald Institute grant regarding eligibility have now largely been clarified. At least for the first two years, the grant will operate under the eligibility structure of an NSERC MRS and we continue to work with the agency to define the details and to support the NSERC peer review, which is currently underway. This is great news for the astroparticle physics community as this will provide the necessary support to ensure Canadian Researchers are at the forefront of astroparticle physics initiatives within Canada. We are continuing the effort to develop the exciting new vision and five-year strategy and will look to initiate spending later this summer or in early fall 2024.
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June 19th: Wilfred Buck documentary screening | |
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The Screening Room, Kingston’s oldest independent theatre, will screen a new film by Director Lisa Jackson, Wilfred Buck: I Have Lived Four Lives. The film will play for three nights, June 19th, 21st, and 26th, and the McDonald Institute is proud to sponsor the opening night event, during which Director Lisa Jackson will be present for a live Q&A about the film.
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June 25th: Pints of Particles | |
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Astronomy on Tap in Kingston continues in person with a special Pints of Particles edition! This free event will be held on June 25th at 6:30 p.m. in the Living Room of The Mansion (506 Princess St, Kingston).
We will host two fantastic scientists, astroparticle physicists Aaron Vincent and Melissa Baiocchi, who will debate the light and dark sides of matter. The event will be hosted by local astro-buff Mark Richardson. There will also be trivia questions related to astronomy, and prizes will be given out to the winners!
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Jol Thoms art exhibit at the Miller Museum of Geology | |
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Jol Thoms, a Canadian-born, UK-based artist, educator, and sound designer, brings a unique perspective to the intersection of arts and sciences. In 2021, he was one of four artists invited to an art and science residency and visit the Queen’s physics labs, meet with researchers, and travel to Sudbury to visit SNOLAB. Thoms created new artwork for the travelling exhibition DRIFT: Art and Dark Matter, a selection of which is showcased in this exhibit, now open Monday-Friday from 9 am-5 pm at the Miller Museum of Geology at Queen’s University.
https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/news/art-and-dark-matter/
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The McDonald Institute, now in partnership with the Carbon to Metal Coating Institute (C2MCI), will again be running its Summer of Science from July 9 through August 15th, 2024. The Summer of Science is a free afternoon enrichment program for high school and middle school students (including students graduating this June). The program will be in-person for those in Kingston and surrounding areas, and we will also have a virtual cohort based on interest. Many spaces are still available, so please consider sharing this opportunity with your family and friends!
https://mcdonaldinstitute.ca/summer-of-science/
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McDonald Institute at CAP Congress 2024
The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) held its annual week-long Congress at the end of May at Western University in London, ON. Alexandra Pedersen of the McDonald Institute facilitated the half-day Division for Gender Equity in Physics (DGEP), and Mark Richardson hosted the Division for Education in Physics (DEP) session in the afternoon. The un-conferencing style sessions encouraged group collaboration through engagement with participant-generated brainstorming prompts. Both sessions were at full capacity and resulted in a wealth of ideas for further action.
Check out the Community of Practice webpage for an overview of the questions discussed, shared resources, and current community initiatives.
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Book Giveaway!
We were pleased to see Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, & Dreams Deferred, as one of the most recommended resources for the Community of Practice. We are also pleased to offer a copy of this book to one random newsletter subscriber!
To be entered into the giveaway, please suggest an EDII resource for the astroparticle physics research community through this form.
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Alex Pedersen Special Recognition Staff Award (QDIUA program)
Congratulations to Alex Pedersen (she/her) McDonald Institute Manager for EDII Capacity Development) who was recently awarded a second Special Recognition Staff Award at Queen’s. As part of Alex’s professional development training, she enrolled in the Foundational Leaders Program (Human Resources, Queen’s) training. The program’s main team building activity is to identify a gap in the university’s programming and spend 18 months as a staff group developing a strategic plan and project to implement. Alex worked with six other staff across the university and coordinated with other administrators to develop a first-of-its-kind opportunity in Canada called the Queen’s Doctoral Internship in University Administration (QDIUA program). Now in its third cohort, the program has employed 33 PhD students across five Faculties and 14 administrative units at Queen’s. Way to go, Alex, for your recognition of going above and beyond day-to-day activities and creating a lasting positive impact for graduate students at Queen’s community.
Alex still keeps up with her research commitments to communities and international partners in multiple ways. She recently applied for and was awarded a small grant to document Indigenous Maya and non-Indigenous campesino (farmer) resistance to Canadian mining company operations in Guatemala. Alex was away for most of May conducting interviews with Indigenous leaders, community members, former mine workers, and local organizations concerned with human, Indigenous, and environmental rights. Her on-the-ground fieldwork is informed by Indigenous, feminist, and activist methodologies and Alex brings these practices into her work at the McDonald Institute. Before returning to Canada, Alex presented her findings to members of the Conference of Latin American Geographers in Puerto Rico as part of a special session on Emerging Research on Extravism(s) in Guatemala.
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[Dr. Alex Pedersen presents at the Conference of Latin American Geographers’ special session on fieldwork and research co-authored by Dr. Catherine Nolin (UNBC).]
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Advancing EDII Fund Grant Recipients
We’re pleased to announce the recipients of the first Advancing EDII Fund through the McDonald Institute. This fund aims to financially support community building and strengthening efforts in physics training and research environments across Canada. Applicants could apply for one stream of funding based on the novelty and/or sustainment efforts they wished to pursue to bolster EDII in astroparticle physics and beyond.
Congratulations to the following applicants:
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| Bart Ripperda and Gibwa Musoke | EDII Workshop for Theoretical Plasma-astrophysics (Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto) | | Victoria Arbour and Paul Deguire | Department-wide EDI Workshop Day (Nuclear Astrophysics Group, Department of Physics, University of Guelph) | | Miriam Diamond, David Curtain, and Liz Cunningham | Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Podcast Club (IDEA Committee, Physics Department, University of Toronto) | | Seyda Ipek | Sun, Moon, and Science: An Afternoon of Celestial Beauty (Herzberg Laboratories, Department of Physics, Carleton University) | | Jeremy Savoie | Mental Health: An EDI Approach to Mental Well-Being (Physics Department, Université de Montréal) | | Samantha Kuula | Implementing a Knowledge Keeper in House Program at SNOLAB (Corporate Services, SNOLAB) | | Jennifer Low | Building-wide Emergency Menstruation Products (Department of Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy, Queen's University) | | Nasim Fatemighomi and Christine Kraus | Enhancing and improving SNOLAB co-op program by performing a demographic survey of the co-op students (SNOLAB) | | |
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We look forward to sharing more successes from these initiatives throughout our next newsletters. The Advancing EDII Fund will reopen this summer for new opportunities.
Feel free to contact Alex Pedersen, Manager for EDII Capacity Development, if you have any questions about this opportunity.
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This program allows graduate students at a recognized Canadian academic institution to travel and work with another research group for up to six months to gain experience and bring new knowledge back to their home research group.
Learn more about the program here.
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New opportunities in astroparticle physics!
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The Careers in Astroparticle Physics website features jobs, research positions, and other career-building opportunities in the field in a highly discoverable way. Prospective and current students can easily find current postings to take their careers to the next step, or just to keep them inspired and optimistic about their future.
View the Careers website.
We hope you find this community resource helpful!
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HQP - Highly Qualified Personnel includes Graduate students, Postdocs, and early career researchers. Undergraduate students with a keen interest in astroparticle physics are also encouraged to participate in HQP programming.
Would you like to be more involved in the research community? We invite motivated students and early career researchers to participate in the McDonald Institute Highly Qualified Personnel Advisory Committee (HQPAC). The committee meets regularly to discuss issues and strategize long-term goals for ways to enhance the experience of everyone in astroparticle physics.
The McDonald Institute at Queen’s University is situated in the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe & Haudenosaunee First Nations. The Institute is part of a national network of institutions and research centres, which operate in other traditional Indigenous territories. Visit www.whose.land to learn the traditional territories where astroparticle physicists are grateful to live and work across Canada.
Thank you for your support. If you would like to view past newsletters from the McDonald Institute, please visit the: Newsletter Archive.
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