Queen’s University has officially launched the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute , a national research network dedicated to understanding some of the universe’s deepest mysteries.

The namesake of the institute, Arthur B. McDonald, is the 2015 Nobel laureate in physics for his pioneering neutrino work at SNOLAB, and is a member of Perimeter Institute’s Board of Directors.

The newly announced institute is the result of a $63.7 million investment from the Government of Canada’s Canada First Research Excellence Fund given to Queen’s University in 2016.

Perimeter Institute is among the five affiliated research organizations and eight universities in partnership with the McDonald Institute. Together, the partners aim to facilitate the exchange of research and ideas at the intersections of cosmology and particle physics.

“Although the dimensions of the particles we are studying are minute, the implications of these discoveries are monumental and fundamental to the very properties of science and our understanding of the formation and evolution of the universe,” said McDonald Institute Scientific Director Tony Noble at the May 8 launch in Kingston.

Perimeter Faculty Chair Luis Lehner said partnering with the McDonald Institute will facilitate “collaborative research in pursuit of answers to some of the deepest mysteries in science, and mutually strengthen the training and educational outreach activities of both institutes.”

Over the past year and a half, the McDonald Institute has appointed a scientific director and recruited 13 new faculty members (out of 15 designated positions) from around the world.

In addition to advancing research into areas such as the mysteries surrounding dark matter and neutrino science, the McDonald Institute has a mandate for scientific outreach and to develop unique undergraduate and graduate student programming and opportunities.