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The Department of Astronomy and Physics Canadian Research Chair Utilization Plan INTRODUCTION

In the late 19th century, George E. Hale (one of the most famous astronomers of his day) declared the "New Astronomy of the 20th Century" to be theoretical astrophysics, in which the laws of physics are used to explain astronomical observations. At the Kingston meeting hosted by Saint Mary's in 1996, Michael Norman (a distinguished astrophysicist of our day) declared computational astrophysics, the use of high-powered computing to solve complex problems in astrophysics, as the "New Astronomy of the 21st Century."

In fact, the computational revolution in Astronomy began long before the turn of the 21st century. When the first computers were not busy doing ballistics calculations for the military, astronomers were using them to calculate the motion of planets and the structure of stars. As the power of computers has grown, so has their importance as a research tool to astronomers. Today, nearly all areas of research in astronomy are being conducted with computers.

Astronomy may be unique among all disciplines in that as few as four key appointments can truly catapult a regional leader such as our department to one of national leadership and international prominence. For example, the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA, hosted by the University of Toronto) began 15 years ago with just four faculty members. Today, CITA is thc national centre for theoretical astrophysics. There is, however, currently no national centre for computational astrophysics, and this gives Saint Mary's a rare opportunity to exploit an important scientific niche.

The facility of the Department of Astronomy and Physics proposes that four Canada Research Chairs (CRC) be used to create an Institute for Computational Astrophysics (ICA). The ICA would bring in one "star" and three "rising star" researchers building on existing strength within the Department of Astronomy and Physics, creating in very short order an internationally recognized centre of research excellence in computational astrophysics.

We argue in the rest of this prospectus that such a move would be entirely consistent with the objectives of the CRC Program, namely:

 to enable institutions to foster research excellence and enhance their role as world-class centers of research excellence (primary objective);  to attract and retain excellent researchers;  to train highly qualified personnel (HQP) through research;  to improve the university's capacity for generating and applying new knowledge; to ensure the effective use of research resources through institutional strategic planning and collaboration.

THE PLAN

We have developed a plan to establish the ICA gradually with built-in milestones for periodic review.

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Year 1 (2000-2001): appoint a Tier I CRC. The appointee would be the ICA's first director and a senior computational astrophysicist of world-renown with experience in building programs and/or institutes.

Year 2 (2001-2002): appoint a Tier II CRC. The appointee would be a "rising star" in computational astrophysics.

Years 2 and 3 (2001 2003): seek special NSER, CFI, and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR) institutional funds (PI: Director) for space, supercomputer, visualization labs, PDFs, etc.

Year 3 (2002 2003): appoint two Tier II CRCs.

Notes:

 The initial Tier I appointment is critical. The appointee needs to be of sufficient stature to attract the very best Tier II and PDF candidates, and to lead successful institutional proposals. To attract such a person, the institute must be afforded sufficient "room for growth," and thus the need for three Tier II CRCs.  Equally important, three Tier II appointments are necessary to develop a critical mass of expertise to ensure the long-term success of the ICA.  The Director would have a teaching load of 0.5 course per year in the first few years of the ICA, and 1.0 course per year thereafter. Tier II CRCs would have a teaching load of 1.0 course per year.  Astronomy and Physics faculty unanimously agree it is in the best interest of the Department and the University for all CRC appointments to be used to attract people from outside Saint Mary's University.  All CRCs would hold joint appointments in the Department of Astronomy and Physics.  * Upon request, current members of the Department would hold joint appointments in the ICA.  Concurrent with the development of the ICA, the Department would submit a formal proposal for a Ph.D. program in Astronomy.

RATIONALE

Addressing the CRC Objectives:

 The Department of Astronomy and Physics has an established record of research excellence, including the area of computational astrophysics (e.g., the recent CFI grant, 1996 "Kingston meeting" on computational astrophysics hosted by SMU, established reputations of Guenther and Clarke). The ICA would enhance our Department to a world-class sentry of research excellence.  Once it is known that Saint Mary's will be appointing four computational astrophysicists to CRCs with the intent of building a world-class institute, we will l)e targeted by the very best applicants from all over the world.  All members of the ICA would bc actively involved in recruiting and supervising graduate students. In addition, with CRC funds as well as institutional and individual operating grants, the ICA would house several PDFs, dramatically increasing Saint Mary's role in the training of HQP.

Best Chance of Success:

We submit that the Department of Astronomy and Physics is the only department at SMU capable of

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climbing to the role of national leadership and international prominence with the infusion of just four people. The reasons include:

 Our department is one of only a few departments at Saint Mary's already with the status of regional leader and significant national player;  We are the only department at Saint Mary's, and one of only a few in the country, in which every faculty member's research is supported by a federal granting agency;  We start with an established track record in computational astrophysics;  Astronomy may be the only discipline in which four people can make such a dramatic difference;  There is currently no institute designated as the national leader for fully one third of the discipline (computational astrophysics). Each of the other two thirds (observation and theory) currently enjoy significant federal institutional support on top of individual research grants to the faculty members.

If the University were to scatter its six CRCs about six different departments, we feel that an important opportunity would be squandered. We urge the University to concentrate four of the chairs in the manner described in this prospectus, and put Saint Mary's at the leading edge of the "Ncw astronomy of the 21st Century."

If called upon, we are ready to prepare a formal proposal for the ICA, suitable for insertion into the University's Strategic Research Plan as required by NSERC by September 1, 2000. However, to submit a nominee for a Tier I chair by December 1, 2000 we would have to begin the search well before September 1.

Respectfully submitted,

Malcolm Butler, David Clarke, David Guenther, George Mitchell, David Turner, Gary Welch

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