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The internationally recognized research performed by UBC faculty and their
students is supported by superb facilities both within the department and in
various related institutions on campus. Some of the major facilities available
include:
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Subatomic Physics Facilities |
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Computing Resources
The subatomic physics group maintains its own computing cluster for data analysis and simulation.
In addition to the standard HEP analysis tools (ROOT, GEANT, PAW, CERNLIB), the SNO and TWIST
reconstruction and Monte Carlo packages run on this system. BaBar analysis at the Ntuple
level runs here at
UBC, but due to extremely large dataset size (TeraBytes!), reconstruction and Monte Carlo generation
of events are done centrally. We are one of the bigger users of the Westgrid
computing facility TRIUMF - we use the UBC/TRIUMF Glacier Cluster
facility,
primarily for large scale BaBar Monte Carlo production.
The local UBC high energy physics computing system in our Hennings 222 lab includes:
- Four fast dual-CPU PCs, running Linux, used as disk and compute servers
- Several Terabytes of centralized RAID disk
- Tape and CD-RW backup
- Laser printers and colour printers
- A couple of dozen workstations of several different architectures and operating systems,
including mainly RedHat Linux, but also Windows, MacOSX, and a few legacy DEC Alphas
- Approximately a Terabyte of local disk distributed across the workstations
Additionally, all students, research associates and faculty in subatomic physics
have access to the departmental computing
facilities, which include a Sun Solaris (UNIX) server, several dozen
xterminals and PCs running windows, plus an assortment of peripherals, including
laser printers, colour printers and a scanner. Mathematica and Maple are among
the software
tools and packages on the departmental system which are often used by
subatomic group members.
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TRIUMF
TRIUMF is at the south end of the
UBC campus; it hosts over a hundred research physicists, including UBC faculty members and graduate students, thus allowing
UBC Physics graduate students to conduct thesis research in an international scientific atmosphere. The facility centers on
the world's largest cyclotron with proton, meson, and muon beam lines for studies of nucleon interactions, nuclear structure,
meson electroweak interactions, medical imaging, materials phsyics and biophysics. The ISAC facility provides a source of
exotic isotopes for use in experiments in condensed matter physics, particle astrophysics, and medicine. The BaBar drift
chamber was assembled and strung at TRIUMF.
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Department Facilities |
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Electronics, Machine Shops, and Technical Services
The Particle Physics group has an experience fulltime technician/engineer, Doug Maas,
whose expertise is essential in many of the hardware and elecronics projects
we do.
The department also has high level of skilled technical support along
with modern equipment and facilities. The shops include the main machine shop
with six full-time technicians, and a newly-acquired computer-controlled milling
machine; the electronics shop with a supervising engineer and three technicians;
the well-equipped and supervised student machine shop; (with shop courses for
graduate students) the shared-technical
services facility with two technicians to provide liquid helium and maintenance
of research equipment; and the crystal preparation room.
The department has its own storeroom. The undergraduate laboratories have their
own technical support, and further shops and facilities are located at TRIUMF.
These services are coordinated by the Technical Services coordinator, who is
also available for design work.
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University Facilities |
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Libraries and Reading Rooms
The Science Division of the Main UBC
Library maintains an outstanding collection
of physics books and journals just a few paces from the Physics and Astronomy
Department. Many of the most commonly requested Physics and Astronomy journals
are also available as e-journals online to registered UBC students and staff,
thanks to UBC Library's extensive collection of electronic subscriptions.
The Physics Reading Room houses the Physics Department's own collection of the
latest journals and provides access to electronic journals. Extensive database
access (and workshops to help you efficiently use electronic research materials)
is currently provided through the Main UBC Library.
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