TRIUMF High School Fellowship – Winners Announced

Announcement | April 15, 2008

Above (from left to right): Darien Niamir and Sen Mei, TRIUMF High School Fellowship recipients

Sen Mei of Penticton and Darien Niamir of West Vancouver are Grade 12 students who have been chosen to embark on a six-week science adventure with TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory in Vancouver for particle and nuclear physics.

Every year, the BC Innovation Council's TRIUMF High School Fellowship program awards two graduating secondary students with a $3,000 award and the opportunity to participate in a summer research project at TRIUMF.

Mei and Niamir share a strong passion for exploring science and physics. The TRIUMF experience allows them to follow their shared passion for physics while gaining insight into future career paths. At the end of the project in August 2008, an official ceremony will be held to present Mei and Niamir with their fellowship awards.

"I've always been a curious person, especially in science, and even more so in physics," said Mei. "Physics is my favourite branch of science because it always has the beauty of symmetry-balanced and conserved. It allows me to see how matter and energy exquisitely interact in space and time."

"My interest became focused on physics after watching Brian Greene's BBC documentary, The Elegant Universe," said Niamir. "There was so much mystery or "spookiness" in this subject that I was totally absorbed into it, realizing that we live in an unreal world that is shrouded in mysteries which are waiting to be discovered."

The annual fellowship program began in 2004 and continues to offer this exceptional experience to B.C. students entering their first undergraduate year within the sciences at a recognized post-secondary institution. The program is a collaboration between BC Innovation Council and TRIUMF to encourage young scientists to pursue careers in research and technology.