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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - FEB/MAR 2013
PEOPLE
SNOLAB employs some of the
most qualified personnel in the world.
One of the many remarkable things
about the facility is that at every lev-
el, skills are paramount. When CIO
toured SNOLAB, it was clear that un-
derground, every person is critical to
achieving the overall goals of the team.
“
You’ll notice that there aren’t different
coloured hard hats or other markers
distinguishing one type of employee
from another,” Kuula noted. “We are
all part of the SNOLAB team and ev-
eryone contributes to our success.”
The facility is extremely people-
friendly despite being so remote. From
the staff kitchen to the comfortable
shower facilities (necessary for keep-
ing the lab clean), things are done to
make sure that staff are as comfortable
as possible. The air is ventilated using
a specialized system—you wouldn’t
notice after spending some time in the
lab that you are in fact, so far below
the surface.
You might ask, after such a tour:
what’s next? SNOLAB will host scien-
tific experiments that range from short
term to 20 years. But what is the next
threshold of underground study? For
now, the SNOLAB team says that “the
extension of the SNOLAB facility infra-
structure itself and provision of ad-
ditional caverns will depend strongly
on the development of the field and
on the availability of similar deep lo-
cations internationally.” Considering
the innovation and ground-breaking
research that is occurring below, Ca-
nadians can be sure that SNOLAB will
be on the cutting-edge, leading par-
ticle physics and science excellence,
for years to come—even if that means
journeying even further underground.
SNOLAB has gained itself a world
reputation as the “partner of choice for
deep underground science, delivering
world-class science and benefit to Can-
ada, and her international partners.”
