Canadian Subatomic Physics & TRIUMF

1. Canadian Subatomic Physics & TRIUMF InterAction Collaboration Meeting |9-11 May 2012 |Vancouver T.I. Meyer |Head, Strategic Planning & Communication |TRIUMF

2. Canadian Subatomic Physics

3. Primer on Canada • Particle & nuclear physics called “subatomic physics” • Many Canadian physicists think this is clear and enlightening • Subatomic-physics research is supported by • NSERC (Canadian NSF) • CFI (relatively new agency aimed at medium to large-scale infrastructure) • Assorted provincial governments • Subatomic-physics research is performed by • NRC (perhaps similar to U.S. DOE) • TRIUMF • SNOLAB • Perimeter Institute • Universities

4. What’s on our minds? • The Canadian subatomic physics community will face key decisions in the 2011-2016 period that will determine the physics priorities beyond 2016. • What project at the energy frontier will become our next priority when the definitive results from ATLAS are published? • How will Canada exploit the physics potential of TRIUMF’s Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory (ARIEL) to maintain our leadership in radioactive beam physics? • Could an upgrade to T2K provide insight into the dominance of matter over antimatter in our universe? • Will the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) adopt Canadian technology and look to be situated at SNOLAB? • Will the subatomic physics community have the resources at its disposal to perform the R&D required for any/all of these opportunities?

5. TRIUMF

6. TRIUMF: A National Science Laboratory Members University of Alberta University of BC Carleton University University of Guelph University of Manitoba Université de Montréal Queen’s University Simon Fraser University University of Toronto University of Victoria York University Associate Members University of Calgary McMaster University University of Northern BC University of Regina Saint Mary’s University University of Winnipeg • Research focus: • Advancing isotopes for science & medicine • Probing the structure & origins of matter TRIUMF is owned & operated by a consortium of 17 universitiesFounded 43 years ago in Vancouver

7. Federal & Provincial Support • TRIUMF’s core activities are supported through five-year operating grants from Govm’t of Canada • Annual core operating budget ~ $45M • Associated funding from tri-council agencies and CFI adds another ~ $25M per year • Province of British Columbia provides funding for capital initiatives such as buildings • Small stream of commercial revenue

8. Isotopes for Medicine

9. Where do isotopes come from? • Many unstable isotopes occur naturally • Decay products from other isotopes made in stars, supernovae, etc. • These can be extracted from ore, sea water, air… • Two problems: • Finding and separating isotopes can be difficult • Most naturally occurring radioisotopes are long-lived • Isotopes are therefore often made-to-order

10. How do you make isotopes to order? • Building them up from bare neutrons and protons is not feasible • Instead, we rely on nuclear reactions to modify existing nuclei • Bombard target materials with other particles • Neutrons, protons, electrons/photons • Or even heavy ions (e.g., other isotopes)

11. What are medical isotopes? • “Medical isotope” is a misleading term • What is actually used are radiotracers / radiopharmaceuticals that incorporate a radioactive form of an atom (i.e., radioisotope) • These isotopes lend themselves to medical use • They’re short-lived so they decay within the body • The decay either emits a signal detector outside the body OR can be used to deliver targeted radiation dose • They have “chemistry” that enables them to be connected to biological molecules and then used to track those molecules within the body

12. Many applications (including therapy) Diagnosing brain disorders Molybdenum-99** Treating thyroid cancer Iodine-131 Diagnosing heart attacks and disease Molybdenum-99 Exposing the spread of cancer Molybdenum-99 Scanning bones for infection Molybdenum-99 Imaging lungs for blood clots Xenon-133

13. Isotopes for Oncology Imaging with isotopes is a very powerful indicator of cancer metabolism. Response to therapy can be seen within 24 hours. Baseline 24 hours 1 week 2 months 5.5 months Dana Farber Cancer Institute

14. Disassembling biology

15. Isotopes for Science

16. We are all made of star dust The earth and every living thing are made of star stuff. --Carl Sagan In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.

17. The origin of the elements Big Bang ( Hydrogen, Helium, ~Lithium) Stellar burning ( Carbon, Oxygen,…, Silicon,…, Iron) Stellar explosions (Novae, Supernovae) ( Copper, Silver, Gold, Lead, …)

18. Exotic nuclear isotopes formed in stars drive Pathways to create the chemical elements Tremendous release of energy in supernovae Nuclear Astrophysics Astrophysics Observations Modeling Astronomy Laboratory Experiments Nuclear Physics

19. ARIEL The primary mission of ARIEL is to deliver unprecedented intensities of rare, short-lived exotic isotopes, and in particular those with extreme neutron excess, to simultaneous and multiple experiments, at the existing and world-leading ISAC accelerator complex. A secondary mission of ARIEL is to anticipate future uses of e-linac technologies such as free electron lasers, and including commercial uses such as the production of medical isotopes by photo-fission.

20. High Energy Medium Energy Low Energy ARIEL Project – Master Plan ISAC II • expand RIB program with: • three simultaneous beams • increased number of • hours delivered per year • new beam species • enable long beam times (nucl. astro, fund. symm.) • increased beam • development capabilities • New electron linacdriver • for photo-fission • New proton beamline • New target stations and • front end • staged installation New Accelerators New Front End ISAC I New Mass Separators New Targets e-linac Cyclotron

21. Communications @ TRIUMF

22. Our team • “Strategic Planning & Communication Office” • Communications, education & outreach, scientific conferences (logistics & proceedings), media relations, web & social media, community relations, external/international relations, some A/V services, government relations, and strategic planning • That is, we (are lucky to) serve at the “left hand” of the lab director • Staff • 4.75 FTEs + 2 rotating undergraduate students • Good will of all our colleagues

23. Progress • World’s most popular medical isotope is technetium-99m (Tc-99m) • 30 million medical procedures per year, world-wide • 80% produced at two reactors (Canada, Netherlands) • Ageing • Rely on highly-enriched uranium for target material • Canada, and other govm’ts, interested in alternatives • TRIUMF led team to develop “upgrade kit” for existing medical cyclotrons • Announced in Feb 2012 at AAAS, we have successfully demonstrated production at two sites on two different types of machines • Big question…now what?

24. What keeps us up at night • Many ideas, little time/people/resources • Many partners, many chiefs • Keeping comms relevant/related to lab community • Staying abreast of the science • What happened and when • Government relations • Elevated profile = elevated scrutiny • Metrics, performance measures • Five-Year Plan 2015-2020 due in…late 2013 • Good espresso

25. What gets us up in the morning • Enhanced partnership with local science centre, Science World for “K to gray” outreach programs • TEDxTRIUMF event • Artist in Residence programs • Partnership with Emily Carr University of Art + Design • “Raw Data” project with Emily Carr, Goethe Institut, DESY • Survey of Use of PET for Clinical Cancer Care in Cancer • Cartoons to illustrate web content • Defining an “international strategy” • CERN associate membership? • “Photographer of record” for ARIEL construction • We love the lab, we love the work

26. 99 Things… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1c45_2Brbw

27. Merci Thank You TRIUMF: Alberta | British Columbia | Calgary | Carleton | Guelph | Manitoba | McMaster | Montréal | Northern British Columbia | Queen’s | Regina | Saint Mary’s | Simon Fraser | Toronto | Victoria | Winnipeg | York