New investments advance quantum, astronomy, and life sciences research

Quantum materials, astronomy, and life sciences research at UBC got a major boost today with the announcement of the latest round of Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Award funding.

UBC Science researchers are leading or co-leading five new CFI Innovation projects that will impact new materials research, precision medicine, information processing, life science research, and help unravel the mysteries of the universe.

“Canada is focused on investing in researchers and innovators to advance bold scientific breakthroughs as we build the kind of scientific and academic powerhouse that drives the strongest economy in the G7," said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions in making the announcement.

"This investment through the Canada Foundation for Innovation will equip researchers with cutting-edge, world class facilities that strengthen Canada’s research infrastructure, accelerate discoveries, drive researchers to take their work to the next level and create new opportunities that will benefit Canadians across industries.”

The five UBC Science projects represent an investment worth almost $21.5 million. Researchers in the faculty are also collaborating on, or co-leading, an additional five projects led by other institutions. In total, UBC is leading 14 of the announced projects.

New UBC Science led projects

Creating the building blocks for future quantum technologies 

Project Leads: Andrea Damascelli (Physics and Astronomy) and Pinder Dosanjh (Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute)

This project will enable the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute to advance transformative research to address global challenges in fields such as precision medicine, green energy, smart mining, information processing, and climate change.

UBC's Life Sciences Institute's core facilities 

Project Leads: Dr. Leonard Foster (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michael Smith Laboratories) and Dr. Pauline Johnson (Life Sciences Institute, Microbiology and Immunology)

Funding will help the Life Sciences Institute continue to democratize science by making its modern analytical techniques and facilities more broadly available—capacity that would otherwise only be accessible by well-funded experts in specific areas.

A radioactive molecule lab 

Project Leads: Dr. Kirk Madison (Physics and Astronomy) and Dr. Stephan Malbrunot (TRIUMF)

A dedicated laboratory at TRIUMF for precision experiments with radioactive molecules will enable researchers to break open fundamental questions in physics—and strengthen Canadian excellence in rare-isotope science, particle physics, atomic physics, molecular science and quantum chemistry.

Leading the next frontier in astrophysics: Canadian GRAIN 

Project Leads: Dr. Jess McIver (Physics and Astronomy) and Dr. Daryl Haggard (McGill University)

GRAIN will upgrade ground-based gravitational wave detectors, and provide high performance software infrastructure integrated into digital research alliance of Canada clusters to analyze detector data. The project will provide unique, highly complementary views of the unseen universe.

Second-generation instrumentation for the CCAT telescope 

Project Lead: Dr. Douglas Scott (Physics and Astronomy)

This project will help secure a Canadian contribution to the development of second-generation instrumentation for the Fred Young Submm Telescope in Chile. The work will enable Canadian scientists to take a leading role in discoveries in topics such as dark energy, dark matter, and gravitational waves.

Projects led by other institutions

Building a future for Canadian neutron scattering, part 2

Project Leads: Dr. Bruce Gualin (McMaster University) and Dr. Patrick J. Clancy (McMaster University) 
UBC Lead: Dr. Meigan Aronson (Physics and Astronomy, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, UBC)

Leveraging new physics through a polarization upgrade of the SuperKEKB particle collider

Project Lead: Dr. Michael J. Roney (University of Victoria) and Dr. Savino Longo (University of Manitoba)
UBC Lead: Dr. Christopher Hearty (Physics and Astronomy, UBC)

ATLAS tier-1 centre and distributed computing at the LHC energy frontier 

Project Leads: Dr. Bernd Stelzer (Simon Fraser University) and Dr. Reda Tafirout (TRIUMF)
UBC Lead: Dr. Alison Lister (Physics and Astronomy, UBC)

A Canadian contribution to the ANDES instrument for the European extremely large telescope

Project Lead: Dr. René Doyon (Université de Montréal)
UBC Lead: Dr. Allison Wing Shan Man (Physics and Astronomy, UBC)

Unveiling the microsecond radio sky

Project Leads: Dr. Victoria Kaspi (McGill University) and Dr. Jason Hessels (McGill University)
UBC Lead: Dr. Ingrid Stairs (Physics and Astronomy, UBC)