Dec 8 2015
At a signing ceremony hosted on Friday, December 4 at the Canadian Embassy in Japan, the heads of Canada’s TRIUMF and Japan’s KEK signed a new partnership agreement to significantly enhance research collaborations between the two centres and promote joint projects in the areas of subatomic physics, accelerator science, and materials science.
The signing ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Japan, with the Canadian Ambassador to Japan; Canada’s Chief Trade Commissioner; Director-General from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; and delegations from both TRIUMF and KEK.
As international hubs for subatomic physics research, both TRIUMF – Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics and accelerator-based science – and KEK – The High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Japan – are involved in the research, development, and operation of particle accelerator facilities and share many collaborative projects in these areas. To further strengthen collaborative research opportunities and jointly advance scientific efforts, this new agreement stipulates that each laboratory will set up a branch office at each other’s respective institution.
The signing ceremony was held in the presence of Ambassador of Canada to Japan, His Excellency Mackenzie Clugston; Ms. Susan Bincoletto, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Business Development, and Chief Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada; Ms. Yayoi Komatsu, Director-General, Research Promotion Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); a delegation from TRIUMF led by laboratory Director Dr. Jonathan Bagger; and a delegation from KEK led by the organization’s Director General Dr. Masanori Yamauchi.
“This agreement represents an important milestone in the TRIUMF-KEK and Canada-Japan bilateral relationship,” said Dr. Jonathan Bagger, TRIUMF Director. “It will enhance cooperation between our organizations and countries in support of cutting-edge research, such as the Ultra-Cold Neutron project in Canada and the T2K experiment in Japan. I look forward to continued close collaboration as TRIUMF and KEK together embark on the next step to better advance science, discovery, and innovation.”
Dr. Masanori Yamauchi, Director General of KEK, said “Building on KEK and TRIUMF’s strong foundation of international scientific cooperation, this new agreement, and particularly the establishment of branch offices, will facilitate and enhance our common work on current and future scientific projects of shared interest.”
“For nearly half a century, both laboratories have served as an international center of excellence for accelerator science in each country and provided opportunities for scientific collaboration with a large number of domestic and foreign researchers,” said Ms. Yayoi Komatsu, Director General, Research Promotion Bureau, MEXT. “I hope that this agreement enables further exchange of researchers and collaborations between the KEK and TRIUMF, and that a lot of excellent outcomes are the result.”
“I congratulate TRIUMF and KEK on this important step for international scientific collaboration,” said The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science in Canada. “Canada and Japan are among the world’s leaders in the field of subatomic physics. This partnership will deepen our knowledge of this fundamental research area and create innovations to benefit both of our countries.”
“Canada and Japan share a long history of bilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation,” said Ambassador of Canada to Japan, His Excellency Mackenzie Clugston. “TRIUMF and KEK are an excellent example of this. I am delighted to see this relationship strengthened through this agreement.”
“Building on the recent award of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Canadian researcher Arthur B. McDonald and Japanese researcher Takaaki Kajita, I am pleased to see continued scientific collaboration between our two countries,” said Ms. Susan Bincoletto, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Business Development, and Chief Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada. “This agreement is a significant achievement and another milestone in advance of the 30th anniversary of the Canada-Japan Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement in 2016.”
TRIUMF and KEK have shared multiple collaborative projects in these areas, with current efforts relating to T2K, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the proposed International Linear Collider, materials and molecular sciences, and particle physics experiments using neutrons, muons and kaons, in addition to the Belle II experiment. This new agreement will provide enhanced opportunity to better advance scientific discovery.
A collection of photos from the signing ceremony can be found here.
Source: http://www.triumf.ca/