Perimeter Institute unveils major expansion plans as it celebrates 10th anniversary

The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) kicked off a high-profile 10th anniversary Quantum to Cosmos: Ideas for the Future festival with the announcement of a major expansion of its Waterloo ON facilities. The plan calls for a doubling of research space and includes a new wing to be named the Stephen Hawking Centre. The Expanding the Perimeter campaign also aims to raise $400 million over the next several years from public and private sources.

The two initiatives have raised $63 million to date. The 5,000-sq-m expansion named in Hawking's honour has received $35 million — $15 million from an anonymous donor, $10 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and $10 million from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. Hawking — a major star in the field of theoretical physics who retired from the Univ of Cambridge October 1/09 after a 30-year career — holds one of 20 PI Distinguished Research Chairs and has confirmed a month-long visit to the PI next summer.

In the longer term, PI's expansion campaign goal of $400 million would allow for a major boost to its endowment and a significant expansion of research activity. The aim is to cement Canada's growing reputation as a global powerhouse in the field of theoretical physics by stepped-up recruitment efforts and the achievement of significant advancements in the field. To that end, PI has engaged Suzanne Corbeil to take up the new position of director of global outreach. Corbeil stepped down as VP external relations and communication of the CFI last week.

"The campaign is in its very early stages. PI aims to secure its long-term future with a combination of endowment growth — currently at $200 million — and the ongoing commitment of its government partners," says John Matlock, PI's director of external relations and outreach. "The Institute aims to fund annual operations from a mix of public and private funding, continuing the highly successful funding model we have used to date."

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