WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg’s Dr. Chris Wiebe has been appointed to an elite group of scientists looking for solutions to the most important questions our world faces today. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) brings together outstanding researchers to work in global networks, including 15 Nobel Laureates since its inception.
Wiebe is a leading chemist and Canada Research Chair in Quantum Materials Discovery. His state-of-the-art lab in the Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex contains Manitoba’s only floating zone image furnace, which allows him to grow crystals at very high temperatures and watch them evolve in real time. His research focuses on the new materials that now define our world, from the electronics inside an iPad to the superconducting magnets inside MRI machines.
Wiebe is the only Manitoba scientist appointed by CIFAR to its Quantum Materials Program Members come from prestigious universities around the world including Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Osaka University, Kyoto University, Chinese Academy and Canada’s McMaster, University of British Columbia, Waterloo, Simon Fraser, McGill, University of Toronto, École Polytechnique and Université de Sherbrooke.
“I am really honoured by this appointment, which allows me to meet and interact with top global researchers,” said Wiebe, whose love of science was first ignited as a student at UWinnipeg (Bachelor of Science, 1996). “This opportunity and membership in CIFAR places UWinnipeg among the highest quality research facilities, and that’s good for our students. It also means potential to grow more graduate programs in science here at UWinnipeg.”
“Dr. Wiebe’s work is internationally renowned, and through his teaching and mentorship, our students are exposed to hands-on research and experimentation in one of the best labs in Canada,” said Dr. Annette Trimbee, UWinnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor. “This prestigious appointment highlights once again that UWinnipeg attracts some of the world’s finest researchers.”
Established in 1982, CIFAR is a Canadian-based, global organization, comprised of nearly 350 fellows, scholars and advisors from more than 100 institutions in 16 countries.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
