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APPLICATION DEADLINE:  Wednesday February 4th, 2026

Job Description

The Experimental Particle Astrophysics Group at Queen’s University has openings for undergraduate
summer researchers in summer 2026. The group is actively involved in the design, construction, and
operation of next-generation experiments that seek to answer fundamental questions in particle physics
and astrophysics, including searches for dark matter particles, studies of neutrinos and neutrino
properties, and investigations into advanced detector technologies. Much of our experimental work takes
place at SNOLAB, the world-leading particle astrophysics laboratory located 6800’ underground in Vale’s
Creighton mine, near Sudbury (see www.snolab.ca). Some of the summer research activities could take
place at SNOLAB.

Although holding an award is not required for the positions listed below, students eligible for NSERC
Undergraduate Student Research Awards (“USRAs”) or other fellowship support are strongly encouraged
to apply for them. Applications for USRAs and Queen’s University Summer Student Research Fellowships
(“USSRFs”) in Queen’s Physics are coordinated by Melissa Balson (4mjb5@queensu.ca), and further
information is available at

/physics/sites/physwww/files/uploaded_files/Employment%20Ads-
Students/NSERC-USRAs-2026.pdf.
The application deadline for these is February 6th, 2026.

This year, there is also a separate USSRF stream for Queen’s summer research positions based at
SNOLAB, which is coordinated by Stephen Sekula (stephen.sekula@queensu.ca). Applications should be
submitted via https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/ie0TYHYN1E by February 4th, 2026. Note that Queen’s
students may also apply to the general pool of SNOLAB undergraduate research opportunities:
https://www.snolab.ca/employment/student-opportunities/.

The Queen’s University research groups on the experiments listed below anticipate hiring one or more
students this summer. Please send a cover letter, a cv, and a copy of a recent transcript by e-mail to the
contact for each of the experiments you are interested in. Successful candidates will have strong academic
records in Physics, Engineering Physics, Chemistry, or a related discipline and will have some relevant
experience demonstrating potential for research.

KDK+ is an experiment measuring rare decays of 40K and other isotopes of interest to astronomy and
geochronology with openings to work on hardware, simulations and analysis. Include string “KDK26” in
email subject.
Contact: Philippe Di Stefano (distefan@queensu.ca, /academia/di-stefano/)

SNO+ studies fundamental properties of neutrinos using a 780 tonne liquid scintillator target. The
experiment is currently operating at SNOLAB. Potential summer research activities include data analysis,
participating in the development of tellurium process systems and procedures, and operating the detector
during data taking. Queen’s faculty members working on SNO+ include Mark Chen, Ryan Martin, and Alex
Wright.
Contact: Alex Wright (awright@queensu.ca)

DEAP and DarkSide are large-scale liquid argon experiments that use the unique properties of liquid
argon scintillation to search for extremely rare dark matter interactions. DEAP is based at SNOLAB
and has already acquired 3 years’ worth of data. DarkSide is a next-generation experiment, and will
be the first direct dark matter experiment to fully instrument the detector with novel quantum
sensors called Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). Opportunities available to students include analysis
of DEAP data as well as assistance with data-taking, and simulating and testing the data acquisition
system for DarkSide in conjunction with colleagues at TRIUMF. Additionally, students will have the
opportunity to gain hands-on experience, by contributing to cutting-edge measurements in liquid
argon, eventually mixed with other molecules to enhance its signal, with the scope to develop new
tools for the dark matter detection in future rare event search experiments.
Contact: Théo Hugues (theo.hugues@queensu.ca)

NEWS-G has developed novel spherical gas detectors that are exceptionally sensitive to low energy
interactions. A large volume spherical detector has been built and is currently being installed underground
at SNOLAB to search for low-mass dark matter particles and other rare low energy interactions. Prototype
detectors are currently being built and tested at the Queen's NEWS-G lab. Summer positions are available
to assist with the data taking at SNOLAB and Queen's, with the dark matter search and calibration data
analysis, and with the development and testing of novel detector technologies.
Contact: Guillaume Giroux (gg42@queensu.ca)

PICO searches for dark matter using bubble chambers. In these detectors, the superheated liquid
undergoes phase transitions when recoiling nuclei from WIMP interactions deposit energy in the fluid.
These phase transitions are detected using sensitive piezo-electric transducers and video cameras. PICO-
40L is the current phase of the experiment and is currently being com����ֱ��ed underground at SNOLAB.
The next phase of the experiment, PICO-500, is currently in the stage. Potential summer positions include
assisting with the detector operation, dark matter search and calibration data analysis, and design and
testing of PICO-500 components.
Contact: Ken Clark (kjc5@queensu.ca)

HELIX (High Energy Light Isotope eXperiment) is a balloon experiment designed to measure cosmic ray
light isotopes, especially the beryllium isotopes, at an altitude of ~40 km. As the Beryllium-10 isotopes
are known to decay with a half-life of 5 million years, comparing the flux of this isotope with a stable
isotope of Beryllium-9 can provide essential information to understand the lifetime of cosmic rays within
our Galaxy. HELIX had a successful flight in 2024 summer and is preparing for the next flight. Potential
summer students will work on various tasks to perform tabletop tests of the prototype detectors, data
analysis and simulation for the future payload. This includes assisting the detector performance checks,
data analysis, flight simulation, and R&D studies for the future detector components for the next HELIX
flight.
Contact: Nahee Park (nahee.park@queensu.ca)

SBC (the Scintillating Bubble Chamber) searches for dark matter using a bubble chamber with a
scintillating active fluid. We are currently operating a test chamber at Fermilab; the dark matter detector
will be installed at SNOLAB. This summer we are looking for several students to work on different areas
of the project, including analysis of com����ֱ��ing data from the first operational chamber and the
integration of the data collection hardware with the computer system. Students interested in a more
“hands on” project could be involved with the installation, com����ֱ��ing, and analysis of data from a test
stand at Queen’s.
Contact: Ken Clark (kjc5@queensu.ca)

GeRMLab: Our lab focuses on developing germanium-based detector technologies in support of
experiments to search for dark matter and neutrinoless double-beta decay such as LEGEND. We are also
heavily involved in developing machine learning algorithms to support a broad range of experiments in
particle astrophysics. For example, we have developed a set of tools for removing electronic noise from
signals that have been applied to germanium solid-state detectors as well as gaseous proportional
counters. Projects in our group will be based on a discussion with the candidate in a way to align their
work with developing useful skills. Typically, projects involve a mix of hardware for collecting data and
software to develop machine learning models. No prior experience in programming is required, although
some familiarity with python will be advantageous. The position is open to students of all years.
Contact: Ryan Martin ryan.martin@queensu.ca

P-ONE is a newly proposed experiment to build a larger-volume neutrino telescope than IceCube in the
Northeast Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Vancouver Island. The first cluster of the detector demonstrator
is scheduled to be deployed in 2026. Potential summer students will work together with the group
members to test and evaluate the performance of ~700 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The PMTs that
successfully pass all tests will be sent to other P-ONE institutions for further integration with the
demonstrator for future deployment. The students will work on tabletop measurements, data analysis,
and data management.
Contact: Nahee Park (nahee.park@queensu.ca)