The Canada Foundation for Innovation will invest $38.9 million in the expansion of a laboratory for underground science in Sudbury, Ont.
The money will be used to transform the existing Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, or SNOLAB, into a permanent research centre.
“Supporting world-class research will lead to ground-breaking discoveries right here in Sudbury and across Canada,” says Industry Minister Allan Rock. “Canada’s researchers have made extraordinary contributions in science and innovation, and this initiative will help ensure our country’s continued leadership role in astrophysics.”
Scientists at Laurentian University helped design and construct the instruments used at the original observatory, including a neutrino telescope the size of a 10-storey building. The telescope is situated 2 km underground in a mine near Sudbury.
The SNOLAB relies on heavy water to detect neutrinos from the sun and other astrophysical objects and measure their properties.
Most of the investment will be used to build underground passageways as well as surface laboratories, and researchers from six Canadian universities are expected to participate. The administrative centre will be at Carleton University, where project leader Dr. David Sinclair is a professor of physics at the College of Natural Sciences.
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