My Summer co-op as an Engineering Assistant at TRIUMF National Lab.

[Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle & Nuclear Physics]

A view of the Meson Hall where particles travel through beamlines. In this facility, many of the beamlines are shielded under the yellow concrete blocks. (Jack Vanier)

TRIUMF is Canada’s National Laboratory of Nuclear and Particle Physics located on the University of British Columbia Campus. Having this experience working in the engineering department in the Life Sciences division was truly amazing! I worked full time during the summer, and for the two months that I spent there I worked on a number of projects.

Each person is assigned a radiation badge (dosimeter) to log any radiation I may be exposed to during the day. Although exposure to radiation is not expected, exposure in trace amounts will add up over time and must carefully tracked to ensure you remain within safe levels.

During my time at TRIUMF I assisted multiple PhD chemists in the “hot lab” (radioactive substances). I had the opportunity to operate / became familiar with various high precision equipment including the profilometer and electron microscope. I was also involved in programming the front-end interface for a commercial machine product that was under development and helped with soldering / electrical work once we entered the wiring and assembly phase. All in all I had an excellent experience and am honored to have been able to observe and learn from real mechanical and electrical engineers!