History

The community of theoretical physicists in the province of Manitoba is one of significant size. The combined group of 18 theorists (4 at Brandon University, 11 at the University of Manitoba, and 3 at the University of Winnipeg) comprises one of the largest active theoretical physics groups in Canada. In order to further strengthen this research environment the Winnipeg Institute for Theoretical Physics (WITP) was formed in 1990. The WITP was given official institute status by the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg in 1993. In addition to the 18 permanent members of the Institute, there are typically 5 or 6 associate members (post-doctoral fellows, research associates and long-term visitors), as well as graduate students in theoretical physics.

The purpose of the Institute is to increase the cooperation and collaboration between theoretical physicists in Manitoba, thereby strengthening the community, and to initiate and sustain research collaborations between the members of the Institute and first class researchers from all over the world. The activities of the Institute also expose graduate students to different people and ideas, through seminars and lecture series, thereby increasing the quality of training provided. In the long term this will further attract high quality students from Canada and abroad.

Research Programs

The current research interests of the theoretical physics community in Manitoba include the following: collective excitations in solids, cooperative phenomena in condensed matter, nanophysics, disordered media, few-body reaction theory, gauge theories, nuclear theory, simulation of defects in crystals, particle physics, quantum field theory, semi-classical dynamics, quantum gravity, relativity and cosmology. The objectives of the Institute are to

* enhance research output in all of these areas
* to increase the visibility of our research nationally and internationally
* to increase cooperation and collaboration amongst researchers
* to enhance facilities for the training of highly qualified research personnel, such as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows

By achieving these objectives, the Institute will enhance the overall academic effectiveness of all three of Manitoba's Universities, whose mandates include both fundamental research and the training of qualified personnel.

Research Collaborations

The Institute funds both long and short term visits to Winnipeg by recognized national and international experts in various areas of theoretical physics. The visitors are expected to interact and collaborate with members of the Institute on research topics of mutual interest. They are also asked to give seminars and/or short lecture courses for the benefit of the graduate students and Institute members, as well as physics colloquia appropriate for more general audiences. In addition to enhancing both the research and teaching environments, these visits have the added benefit of facilitating contacts with other similar theoretical physics institutes across the country, such as the Perimeter Institute and those at the Universities of Alberta and Minnesota.