Media Release

For Immediate Release

June 18, 2009

Saint Mary’s receives $500,000 in CFI funding to support nuclear research

Saint Mary’s University has been awarded $535,598 by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for research in nuclear science.

The CFI investment will support a $1,343,858 project led by Dr. Rituparna Kanungo, an Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Saint Mary’s.

The project called ISAC Charges Particle Spectroscopy Station (IRIS) will involve building a unique world-class facility for investigating nuclear reactions with energetic beams of unstable nuclei.

The facility owned by Saint Mary's University, will be stationed at TRIUMF, Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, located in Vancouver.

Dr. Kanungo’s research at Saint Mary’s (and particle accelerators around the world) explores the fundamental physics principles behind the existence of nuclei and their behavior. The research helps increase our understanding of how, why and where the elements we see on earth were created in nature.

She has published more than 70 articles in international refereed journals, and received the GSI Exotic Nuclei Community Award as well as the Alexander von Humboldt fellowship.

Under her leadership, an international team of scientists will collaborate to create the new facility in Vancouver. Once built, the facility is expected to attract talented researchers from all over the world and provide valuable training to students in Canada.

In her application for the funding, Dr. Kanungo notes the facility will increase the potential for the discovery of unstable nuclei that are presently inaccessible elsewhere, and it will place Canada in a leading position in nuclear physics research.

This knowledge of nuclear science, she said, will help ensure Canada has the highly qualified personnel needed to address the ongoing challenges of energy production, nuclear safety, nuclear waste handling, and the development of tools used for medical diagnostics.

The CFI announced the funding this morning at a media event held at the University of Ottawa. The investment in Dr. Kanungo’s research is part of $665-million in support CFI will provide to 133 projects at 41 institutions across the country.

“The CFI’s support of cutting-edge research infrastructure has transformed Canada’s research landscape and increased the country’s international competitiveness,” said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO of the CFI. “Investments like this have allowed Saint Mary’s to become a destination of choice for some of the world’s top research talent.”

A complete list of projects funded today by the CFI can be found at: www.innovation.ca.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.

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For More Information:

Blake Patterson
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: blake.patterson@smu.ca
www.smu.ca

Yves Melanson

Coordinator, Media Relations

Canada Foundation for Innovation

(613) 996-3160