Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, otherwise known as TRIUMF, is a research facility on the UBC Vancouver campus. Tucked beside Pacific Spirit Regional Park on the south side of campus, the facility officially opened in 1976. The consortium was founded in 1968 as a collaboration between Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, and University of Victoria meant to expand the three institutions capacity for nuclear physics research. Since its inception, nineteen more institutions have joined, and the centre now facilitates research on nuclear physics, particle physics, molecular and material science, and nuclear medicine.

In 2014, the digitization centre undertook a project to digitize records from TRIUMF. You can browse that collection here.

However, this blog post will be showcasing some of the vintage photographs of TRIUMF from the UBC Archives Photograph Collection. These photographs give us a look into the centre’s opening, early personnel, operations, interior, and the construction of some of the equipment.

Opening of the centre:

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau attended and gave a speech at the opening of the centre in 1976: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0141095

https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0146421 :

This image appears to be a tour of the centre at its opening in 1976: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0145409

People:

Director John R. Richardson in the TRIUMF master control room: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0155430

Erich Vogt, lab director from 1981-94:,https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0152059

Brian Pate and Joop Bergerjohn inspecting radioisotope equipment at TRIUMF: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0147374

Physicist Karl Erdman at TRIUMF control panel, 1973: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0165060

Equipment:

The main feature of TRIUMF is a cyclotron, which according to the TRIUMF website, is a “special type of particle accelerator that accelerates particles inside an air free chamber between the poles of an electromagnet whose magnetic field guides the particles in an expanding spiral path”.

This image shows the cyclotron under construction in 1971:https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0137045

another stage of the cyclotron being built, 1972: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0141074

According to TRIUMF’s website, the vacuum is used to remove pressure within the chamber which can get in the way of moving particles, making particle physics experiments possible.

Here is an image of the moving vacuum under construction at TRIUMF, 1972: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0141072

View of the installation of the TRIUMF magnet, 1973: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0165053

Interior of TRIUMF:

These images depict the interior of TRIUMF during the days of its early operation. Many of the images don’t contain further information, but I will offer more context where possible.

Here’s a look at the TRIUMF control centre, unknown year: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0162757

Another view of the control room, 1978: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0156609

An interior view of TRIUMF, 1973: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0165073

That’s all for this week’s post. Thanks for reading!