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It started with a bang (the big bang that is) and ended amongst the stars.

Nobel Laureate and Professor Emeritus Arthur McDonald delivered the Herzberg Memorial Public Lecture at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts on Monday, as part of the Canadian Association of Physicists Annual Congress, being hosted at Queen’s May28-June 2.

The CAP Congress is the most important physics conference in Canada. Every year, hundreds of Canadian and international physicists descend on the host university to communicate, present, exchange ideas, promote new research, and discuss the role of physics in Canada. This science-filled week also includes a public lecture with a speaker chosen for their merit, his or her impact on the physics community and dedication to inspiring the next generation of young innovators.

The lecture was named in honour of Nobel Laureate Gerhard Herzberg, a longstanding member of the CAP, in recognition of Dr. Herzberg’s known desire to increase public science engagement and appreciation of science amongst the public, and, particularly, youth.

Dr. McDonald continued this theme by appealing to the younger members of the audience with jokes, a promise that “science is fun,” and reminding everyone that they are sitting in a room full of “geeks looking for WIMPs” (weakly interacting massive particles). He also gave an overview of SNOLAB’s new neutrino experiment, SNO+, as well as the current dark matter program underway there. 

Dr. McDonald also discussed the history of the now completed SNO experiment, making sure he gave credit to the more than 270 people who made it possible. He made a point to acknowledge that more than 200 of the collaborators were students and post-docs; reinforcing that contributions from all levels are important.

For their work and discoveries on neutrinos Dr. McDonald and his group were awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Takaaki Kajita of Japan.

After the completion of the SNO experiment the facility was expanded into SNOLAB with funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, a programme designed to “welcome the world to Canada”.

Dr. McDonald reiterated the importance of this initial investment and pushed home the message that “we need to be global in our outlook, in our diversity and our collaborations.”

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