Origins brochure 2009.indd - McMaster Origins Institute - McMaster ...

Exploring the Origins of
Structure and Life in the Cosmos

The Institute and it’s Goals
The OI Vision
The Origins Institute (OI) is a transdisciplinary
research institute at McMaster University whose
mission is to pursue fundamental research into
the origins of structure and life in the cosmos,
and to parlay the excitement of this quest into
innovative Origins undergraduate educational and
public outreach programs. The OI will position
McMaster as an international leader in research
that will profoundly affect our understanding of
the nature of the universe and the appearance of
life within it.
Origins research addresses some of the
most interesting and important questions of
fundamental science: “How and why did the
universe begin”, “How did stars, galaxies and
planets form”, “What is the origin of matter and
of the elements”, “How did life begin on Earth,
and can it also develop on other planets”, “What
processes can account for the diversity of Life”,
and “How did intelligent beings arise and evolve
on Earth”.
These complex processes and progress requires
an interdisciplinary approach that involves
outstanding scientists from diverse fields such as
astronomy, physics, biology and biochemistry,
mathematics, geology, chemistry, anthropology, as
well as computational and visualization experts.
The OI encompasses research across six broad
themes, including the origins of:
Space-time
The elements and matter
Structure in our universe (galaxies, stars,
and planets)
Life (Astrobiology)
Species and biodiversity
Humanity
The OI is creating a complementary set of research
programs within this set of themes.
Pillars of Activity
The OI runs a unique combination of research,
university education, and public outreach programs.
1. Transdisciplinary research — featuring
Origins Scientific Conferences and Workshops,
an Origins Visitors and Senior Visiting Fellows
Programs, weekly Origins colloquia, and an
Origins Postdoctoral Program.
2. Undergraduate program — featuring our
Origins Research Specialization.
3. Public Outreach — featuring an annual Origins
Public Lecture Series and 3D theatre programs.

Members and Partner Institutions
OI members consist of more than 40 faculty
members from departments across the Faculty of
Science ( Biology, Biochemistry, and Geography
& Geology, Mathematics & Statistics, Physics &
Astronomy, Psychology) and the Department of
Anthropology in the Faculty of Social Sciences
and Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities.
It collaborates with groups at universities
and institutes across Canada such as McGill
University, University of Toronto, University of
Western Ontario, Laval University, University of
Calgary, University of British Columbia, Simon
Fraser University, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, NASA Ames Research Centre, and
many more.
OI Advisory Council members include Sir Martin
Rees (Cambridge University), Stuart Kauffman
(University of Calgary) and David Deamer
(University of California - Santa Cruz).
Facilities
OI researchers make use of state-of-the-art High
Performance Computing facilities offered by
SHARCNET (Shared Hierarchical Academic
Research Computing Network), support from the
Research and High Performance Computation
Support group at McMaster, the groundbreaking
genomics research carried out at McMaster’s Centre
for Environmental Genomics and Biotechnology,
and the Centre for Antimicrobial Research.
Program Highights
Over the Last 5 Years
OI operations began on July 1, 2004 with Dr.
Ralph E. Pudritz, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
as its founding Director, and Dr. Jonathon Stone,
Dept. of Biology, as the fi rst Associate Director.
There are many highlights of our fi rst five years of
operation including:
▪ First International Astrobiology Conference and
Workshop held in Canada: May, 2005, entitled
Astrobiology and the Origins of Life. The other
major conferences we have sponsored include
“Origins of Dark Energy” (co-sponsored by the
Perimeter Institute) in May, 2007, and “Darwin’s
Legacy” in May, 2009.
▪ OI Colloquia and Visitors Program: started
2004/2005, and has since hosted over 100 of
visiting scientists who have gives OI colloquia,
public lectures, and seminars.
▪ Origins Undergraduate Specialization: started
in September 2005. It accepts up to 40
outstanding science undergraduates per year,
who are enrolled in a “home”honours undergrad
program, into a unique interdisciplinary, 3 year
OI specialization. Many more students enrol in
our OI undergrad courses, and this number is
well into the thousands.
▪ OI Public Lecture Series: started in 2003/2004.
We’ve had 30 outstanding and very popular
lectures which have filled our largest lecture
theatres. The lectures bring some of the world’s
greatest scientists such as Sir Martin Reees
(cosmology), Sydney Brenner (Nobel Laureate –
physiology), and Chris Stringer (human origins)
to our campus.
PUBLIC LECTURERS
Sydney Brenner
Lawrence Krauss
Chris McKay
Sir Martin Rees
Brian Schmidt
Sara Seager
Chris Stringer
Jill Tarter
Michael Turner
▪ McMaster 3D Theatre opened fall, 2005. This
theatre was created to provide one of the most
potent outreach and educational tools for the OI.
Our first 3D feature “Our Sun: What a Star” has
been a huge success.
Dafydd Williams

Recent Activities
For More Information Contact Us
OI Astrobiology Program
A major focus of OI research is in the area of Astrobiology,
and the institute is regarded as one of Canada’s leading centres
in this exciting emerging area of science. The OI at McMaster
is one of a group of four major research university partners
(McGill, McMaster, Toronto, and Western Ontario) that have
recently received funding as part of a 6 year NSERC CREATE
program to train graduate students and postdocs in this field.
This “Canadian Astrobiology Training Program” engages in
major research in Astrobiology and will see over 70 students and
postdocs engaged in astrobiology research in this area over the
period 2009-2015.
Origins Institute
ABB 241
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West,
Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1
OI Postdoctoral Program
The OI has two postdocs in Astrobiology as of 2009, and
intends to develop this area with further postdoc positions in
the future.
OI Endowed Chairs
OI has been granted the right to recruit up to three endowed
chairs in McMaster’s current fundraising campaign. These are
concentrated primarily in Astrobiology and planetary science, as
well as in the origins of spacetime.
Ralph E. Pudritz
OI Director
pudritz@mcmaster.ca
(905) 525-9140 ext. 23180
Ms. Rosemary McNeice
OI Secretary
mcneicer@mcmaster.ca
(905) 525-9140 ext. 23531
Fax: (905) 546-1252
Jonathon Stone
OI Associate Director
jstoner@mcmaster.ca
(905) 525-9140 ext. 26136
Visit our website: origins.mcmaster.ca