Digital radio telescope, quantum materials 'foundry' highlight new CFI funding

A new digital radio telescope and quantum materials 'foundry' are among the UBC projects being supported by almost $23 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity-Mapping Experiment (CHIME) team has been awarded $4.6 million in funding. This funding, along with funding from provincial governments and partner institutions, will enable the construction of a new radio telescope in Penticton, B.C., designed to measure the largest volume of the Universe ever surveyed. Once completed, the CHIME telescope will be the largest in Canada with a footprint larger than 6 NHL hockey rinks and have one of the largest collecting areas in the world. CHIME is led by cosmologists at UBC, McGIll, and the University of Toronto including CFI project principle investigator Prof. Mark Halpern, Prof. Gary Hinshaw, and Prof. Kris Sigurdson from UBC Physics & Astronomy.

The Quantum Materials and Devices Foundry project, led by Dr. George Sawatzky from UBC Physics & Astronomy, received $1.7 million in funding. Quantum materials manifest a wide range of astonishing electronic and magnetic phenomena that embody the central scientific questions challenging the field of condensed matter physics. Devices fabricated from quantum materials are driving technological advances that hold enormous potential to revolutionize consumer electronics, telecommunications, next-generation computing, alternative energy and medicine. The new investment will continue to build on UBC’s expertise and leadership in this fast evolving area. 

The Quantum Materials and Devices in the MicroKelvin Regime project led by Dr. Joshua Folk and received $659,400. This New Initiatives Fund grant will help build the coldest experimental platform for electronics measurements in Canada – and more convenient measurement access to ultra low temperatures than anywhere else in the world. The facility will help UBC scientists better understand superconductivity and contribute to the realization of quantum materials in everyday lives.

Congratulations to these CFI recipients!