Perimeter Institute Grows

We're running out of space! If you visit Perimeter Institute these days, you'll find desks crammed into every single corner in the corridors. Yet, still more people are being hired. One of the hotly discussed topics in the last months has thus been the upcoming building expansion. Luckily noise and dirt will start after I've left. Here is the official press release, with all significant quotes and digits:

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Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, June 18, 2009 - Today, Neil Turok, Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, welcomed the new investment of $10,012,043 from Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) supporting a major expansion of the Institute's world class facility.

"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 these have allowed Perimeter Institute to become a destination of choice for some of the world's top research talent."

Perimeter's existing building in Waterloo, made possible by a past CFI investment in 2002, exceeded expectations and is operating at capacity. It must now be expanded to achieve the Institute's goal of becoming a world-leading centre promoting major scientific breakthroughs. This new CFI funding will support a 55,000 square foot expansion, in the form of a purpose-built facility designed by the Governor General Award winning firm Teeple Architects.

Plans allow for Perimeter to double its individual and group research spaces, including a new world-class research training space, all with state-of-the-art IT infrastructure enabling complex calculations and the analysis of large data sets as well as remote collaboration with international colleagues. The expanded facility has been designed as the world's ultimate environment for physicists to conceive, visualize and understand the nature of reality, from the subatomic world to the entire universe.

The potential payoff of this expansion of Perimeter Institute is immense. Just one major discovery in theoretical physics is literally capable of changing the world, as when Maxwell discovered a unified description of electricity and magnetism, and Marconi applied his ideas to send the first radio signals. Today, quantum theory is paving the way for the computers and communication systems of tomorrow, which will
vastly exceed the capabilities of current technologies. This historically proven cycle of innovation is fuelled by the foundational thinking that drives the research chain.

"The support received from federal partners like CFI is invaluable and will enable Perimeter Institute to become a leading global hub for theoretical physics research," said Neil Turok, Director of the Institute. "As a result, Perimeter Institute now provides an exceptional opportunity for major scientific progress, for Canada and for the world."

Funding for this project is part of a major $666,128,376 investment announced today by the CFI to support 133 projects at 41 institutions across the country. $247,664,977 was awarded under the Leading Edge Fund (LEF), designed to enable institutions to build on and enhance already successful and productive initiatives supported by past CFI investment.

Another $264,741,466 million was awarded under the New Initiatives Fund (NIF), designed to enhance Canada's capacity in promising new areas of research and technology development. Finally, $153,721,933 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, which assists institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure.

"Our community is an innovation leader, and we continue to build the intellectual capacity that will drive our future growth and prosperity," said Peter Braid, MP for Kitchener-Waterloo. "This funding for research infrastructure at the Perimeter Institute will ensure that Canada remains at the forefront of scientific discovery, and reinforces our reputation as a centre of excellence."

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 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.