[News-releases] TRIUMF Laboratory appoints Internationally Renowned Physicist to top Canadian Scientific Post

[Tim Meyer]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRIUMF LABORATORY APPOINTS INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED PHYSICIST TO TOP
CANADIAN SCIENTIFIC POST

Lia Merminga joins world-leading physics research laboratory as Chief of
Accelerator Division 

VANCOUVER, BC (June 17, 2008) – TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for
particle and nuclear physics, today announced the appointment of Lia
Merminga as the new Head of its Accelerator Division. This role is one of
Canada's most senior scientific posts.  With over twenty years of experience
in accelerator physics, Merminga is a well respected and preeminent
physicist in the international scientific and research community.  

"We are delighted to have a physicist of Lia's stature join our team. Her
appointment will help TRIUMF build on our international reputation of
pioneering scientific discovery and groundbreaking innovation," says Nigel
Lockyer, Director of TRIUMF. "Lia's choice to join TRIUMF is a perfect
demonstration of TRIUMF's ability to attract the world's best scientists to
do research here in Canada. Lia is a brilliant physicist, and her experience
and leadership will be a huge asset not just to our facility, but also to
the advancement of Canadian science."  

Merminga is widely recognized for expertise in identifying problems and
solutions associated with the push for higher energy, higher quality
accelerator beams, and developing concepts for new accelerators. Merminga
has also been recognized for maintaining and establishing collaborative
teams for sophisticated national and international projects. At TRIUMF, she
will be leading the Accelerator Division, which is the foundation of
TRIUMF’s scientific excellence in nuclear physics and life-sciences
technology. 

"The excellence and dedication of the TRIUMF staff, the laboratory's past
accomplishments, and the vision for future directions are all elements that
strongly attracted me.  TRIUMF is the top lab for me to conduct my research
and I'm looking forward to leading some of the world's best researchers,"
states Merminga. "Here, I can play a role in seeding new high-technology
companies and in developing new accelerator techniques that could even be
used for medical-isotope production – for me, it's a very exciting time."

Previously, Merminga worked as the Director of the Centre for Advanced
Studies of Accelerators (CASA) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Virginia, USA.  Merminga was also responsible
for establishing practices that supported and helped expand Jefferson Lab’s
strong program of mentorship and training.  

About Lia Merminga: 
Lia Merminga grew up in Greece.  She began her career as a scientist at
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Merminga moved to the East Coast
in 1992, joining Jefferson Lab as a Staff Scientist. She was Deputy Director
of CASA from 2001 to 2002 and accepted the role of Director in May 2002.
Merminga holds a B.S. from the University of Athens in Greece. She also
holds a M.Sc. in physics, M.Sc. in mathematics and Ph.D. in physics, all
from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Merminga has worked in
advanced accelerator physics for 20 years, specializing in the physics and
technology of energy recovery linear accelerators (linacs), high average
power free-electron laser , linac-ring colliders, multibunch instabilities
in recirculating linacs, radio-frequency (RF) control and modeling, and
nonlinear dynamics. She is internationally known for her contributions to
the designs of potential applications of energy recovery linacs.  She has
taught courses at the U.S. Particle Accelerator School and is a fellow of
the American Physical Society. 

About TRIUMF: 
TRIUMF is Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.
Based in Vancouver, the facility is a world–class physics research
laboratory. TRIUMF hosts scientists from around the globe who conduct
fundamental research in advanced materials, life sciences, particle and
nuclear physics to understand the building blocks of our world. TRIUMF is
funded by a contribution via the National Research Council Canada, support
from the Province of British Columbia, and commercialization of research at
the facility. It is jointly operated by seven Canadian universities,
University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, Carleton University,
l’Université de Montréal, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto,
University of Victoria.  See: http://www.triumf.ca. 

For more information:
Whitney Stanford
Hill & Knowlton Canada
604.692.4223
whitney.stanford at hillandknowlton.ca

-ends-

********************************************************
Timothy I. Meyer, Ph.D.
Head, Strategic Planning and Communications
TRIUMF
4004 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 2A3
Tel: 604-222-7674
E-mail: tmeyer at triumf.ca
********************************************************

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