Research @ Queen’s: Starting a scintillating search

Over the last decade, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) has taken advantage of a unique piece of research infrastructure and set out on a new mission.

Mark Chen, the Gordon and Patricia Gray Chair in Particle Astrophysics, holds a photomultiplier tube (PMT). PMTs are very sensitive light detectors, capable of sensing single light photons and producing an electrical pulse that travels to the data acquisition electronics.

Mark Chen, the Gordon and Patricia Gray Chair in Particle Astrophysics, holds a photomultiplier tube (PMT). PMTs are very sensitive light detectors, capable of sensing single light photons and producing an electrical pulse that travels to the data acquisition electronics.

Like a beloved book or movie that you hope has a sequel, the most successful scientific projects cry out for a second act. That is just what has happened to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), which over the last decade has reinvented itself as SNO+, led by Mark Chen, the Gordon and Patricia Gray Chair in Particle Astrophysics, a project that has taken advantage of a unique piece of research infrastructure and set it on a new mission.

Continue the story on the Research@Queen’s website.