SNOLAB welcomes major federal investment

SUDBURY – The mysteries of the universe will continue to reveal themselves at SNOLAB thanks to a significant federal investment announced Friday.

SNOLAB, celebrating 10 years of leading astroparticle physics research in 2022, will receive $102 million over six years from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Major Science Initiatives (MSI) program.

SNOLAB is one of 14 institutions across Canada to share in this round of CFI funding, totalling $628 million.

“This is terrific news for Canada’s growing astroparticle physics research community, for SNOLAB’s hundreds of international collaborators, and for Greater Sudbury,” says SNOLAB’s Executive Director Dr. Jodi Cooley.

“Sustained investments such as this have allowed SNOLAB to develop world-class infrastructure and highly skilled staff,” Cooley said. “It allows SNOLAB to maintain and develop a world-leading deep underground research facility and investigate some of the fundamental questions in contemporary science.”

SNOLAB is home to more than 1,100 researchers from 164 institutions spanning 24 countries, working primarily in neutrino and dark matter investigations, as well as biology, geology, and low radiological studies. 

Currently, there is space for one more next generation experiment, and there are two international collaborations vying for it, Cooley said.

“These funds will allow us to continue to attract world class experiments to Sudbury, providing great opportunities for Canadian researchers and industry,” Cooley said.

Cooley, who took up her role at SNOLAB on August 1, thanked Interim Executive Director Clarence Virtue for securing this CFI MSI award during his successful 15-month stewardship of SNOLAB.

“It was a privilege to guide the excellent team here are SNOLAB,” Virtue said. “Thanks to CFI, the future of SNOLAB is bright, and thanks to the leadership of Jodi Cooley, in very capable hands.”

Quotes

“Not only does SNOLAB make it possible for cutting-edge research to take place in Sudbury, it positions us as a top destination to attract world-class researchers and drive economic growth,” Lapointe said. “Our government is committed to supporting Canadian research because we know that science is at the heart of innovation.”

– Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Sudbury

“For more than two decades, SNOLAB has been the centre of cutting-edge research in areas such as neutrinos and dark matter. This $102 million investment over six years will significantly improve SNOLAB’s infrastructure. It will also attract-world class experiments to Greater Sudbury-Nickel Belt, especially in the areas of astroparticle physics research. I look forward to hearing about the advancements that will be made through this funding.”

– Marc G. Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt

“We are pleased to see SNOLAB benefit from the support of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). We are proud of our longstanding partnership with SNOLAB, dating back to the underground science laboratory’s inception in the late 1980s. Like Vale, CFI sees the value that this world class research institution offers the mining innovation space, and beyond. We congratulate SNOLAB on this grant and look forward to continued collaboration in areas of mutual interest – of which there are many.”

– Alfredo Santana, Director of North Atlantic Operations, Vale Canada

For More

• More about the Canada Foundation for Innovation
• Details on the CFI’s Major Science Initiatives Fund
• Discover the CFI Research Facilities Navigator: An online database of labs and facilities that are open to working with business, including some that received support through the MSI Fund

About SNOLAB

SNOLAB is an epicentre of global astroparticle physics and underground science discovery, and research located two kilometres below the Earth’s surface in the operational Vale Creighton nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

One of the deepest, cleanest underground laboratories in the world, with an experienced and skilled support staff, SNOLAB is an expansion of the existing facilities constructed for the Nobel Prize-winning Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) solar neutrino experiment.

While particle astrophysics is the principle focus for SNOLAB, there is a growing interest in other scientific fields to exploit the deep underground space and associated infrastructure. The facility is operated by the SNOLAB Institute whose member institutions are Carleton University, Laurentian University, Queen’s University, University of Alberta and Université de Montréal.

For more information on SNOLAB, visit the website at www.snolab.ca and follow along on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @SNOLABscience.

For more

Michael Whitehouse

Senior Communications Officer | SNOLAB

(705) 690-5270

Michael.Whitehouse@SNOLAB.ca