Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory

Research Interests: Geometrically frustrated magnets, Quantum Magnets with singlet ground states, High temperature superconductors.

Dr. Bruce Gaulin is an experimental condensed matter physicist, working in the general area of scattering studies of exotic ground states in new, mostly magnetic, materials. Dr. Gaulin’s team makes new materials which they think will have interesting and exotic ground states, and then take these materials to forefront neutron and x-ray scattering facilities in North America and around the world. They perform scattering experiments on these new materials and then work either independently or with friends in theory to interpret the experiments, and thereby shed light on the exotic properties of the new materials.

Research Interests: Geometrically frustrated magnets, Quantum Magnets with singlet ground states, High temperature superconductors.

Dr. Bruce Gaulin is an experimental condensed matter physicist, working in the general area of scattering studies of exotic ground states in new, mostly magnetic, materials. Dr. Gaulin’s team makes new materials which they think will have interesting and exotic ground states, and then take these materials to forefront neutron and x-ray scattering facilities in North America and around the world. They perform scattering experiments on these new materials and then work either independently or with friends in theory to interpret the experiments, and thereby shed light on the exotic properties of the new materials.

Research Interests: The study of novel materials using x-ray and neutron scattering techniques.

Research Interests: The study of novel materials using x-ray and neutron scattering techniques.

Research Interests: Development of neutron sources, beam lines, and instrumentation

Dr. Zin Tun has been the scientific project leader for the design and construction of three neutron beamlines, including MacSANS valued at over $10M located at the former Canadian Neutron Beam Centre or the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR). He is presently serving as the Director of Instrument Development for implementation of the CFI award, “Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering” which will add three new neutron instruments to MNR. He is Canada’s most experienced expert on the design and construction of neutron beamlines.

Research Interests: Development of neutron sources, beam lines, and instrumentation

Dr. Zin Tun has been the scientific project leader for the design and construction of three neutron beamlines, including MacSANS valued at over $10M located at the former Canadian Neutron Beam Centre or the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR). He is presently serving as the Director of Instrument Development for implementation of the CFI award, “Building a Future for Canadian Neutron Scattering” which will add three new neutron instruments to MNR. He is Canada’s most experienced expert on the design and construction of neutron beamlines.

Mitchell DiPasquale is the Facility Manager for the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory. Currently, he coordinates daily operations, instrument use and development projects, and user training. Previously, he held a postdoctoral fellowship position at the CNBL focussed on the construction and commissioning of the McMaster Small Angle Neutron Scattering (MacSANS) instrument.  

Mitchell conducted his doctoral work at the University of Windsor with Prof. Drew Marquardt where he used neutron scattering to characterize the effect of vitamin E on the structure, organization, and energetics of model biological membranes. 

Mitchell DiPasquale is the Facility Manager for the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory. Currently, he coordinates daily operations, instrument use and development projects, and user training. Previously, he held a postdoctoral fellowship position at the CNBL focussed on the construction and commissioning of the McMaster Small Angle Neutron Scattering (MacSANS) instrument.  

Mitchell conducted his doctoral work at the University of Windsor with Prof. Drew Marquardt where he used neutron scattering to characterize the effect of vitamin E on the structure, organization, and energetics of model biological membranes. 

With a background in research operations, digital infrastructure, and strategic project management, Hope has built her career around supporting researchers in navigating complex systems and advancing high-impact work. Her experience includes leading initiatives in research computing, cloud infrastructure, and AI-focused projects, with a strong emphasis on building collaborative solutions between technical teams, faculty, and institutional leadership. She also holds a Master of Applied Health Services Research, which strengthened her focus on user-centered systems and service improvement. In her role in Nuclear User Experience, she is focused on improving how users engage with nuclear facilities and services—helping connect scientific priorities with the operational, administrative, and technical support needed to enable innovation, access, and discovery.

With a background in research operations, digital infrastructure, and strategic project management, Hope has built her career around supporting researchers in navigating complex systems and advancing high-impact work. Her experience includes leading initiatives in research computing, cloud infrastructure, and AI-focused projects, with a strong emphasis on building collaborative solutions between technical teams, faculty, and institutional leadership. She also holds a Master of Applied Health Services Research, which strengthened her focus on user-centered systems and service improvement. In her role in Nuclear User Experience, she is focused on improving how users engage with nuclear facilities and services—helping connect scientific priorities with the operational, administrative, and technical support needed to enable innovation, access, and discovery.

Bo Yuan is a Research Scientist at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR), responsible for the operation and user support of the McMaster All-purpose Diffractometer (MAD). In 2024, he led the upgrade that replaced the point detector with the current linear detector, formerly the C2 detector from the NRU reactor at Chalk River. He is also involved in developing the new suite of neutron instruments at MNR.

In addition to his instrument responsibilities, he conducts research on quantum materials, ranging from transition metal to rare earth compounds, using bulk measurements and neutron/X-ray scattering techniques at MNR and other national neutron and synchrotron facilities worldwide.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Prof. Young-June Kim, where he studied a broad range of quantum magnets using neutron and X-ray scattering. Before his current role as Research Scientist, he was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at McMaster University working with Bruce Gaulin and Pat Clancy. 

Bo Yuan is a Research Scientist at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR), responsible for the operation and user support of the McMaster All-purpose Diffractometer (MAD). In 2024, he led the upgrade that replaced the point detector with the current linear detector, formerly the C2 detector from the NRU reactor at Chalk River. He is also involved in developing the new suite of neutron instruments at MNR.

In addition to his instrument responsibilities, he conducts research on quantum materials, ranging from transition metal to rare earth compounds, using bulk measurements and neutron/X-ray scattering techniques at MNR and other national neutron and synchrotron facilities worldwide.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Prof. Young-June Kim, where he studied a broad range of quantum magnets using neutron and X-ray scattering. Before his current role as Research Scientist, he was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at McMaster University working with Bruce Gaulin and Pat Clancy. 

Research Interests: Radiation damage to nuclear materials, fusion energy materials, structure of matter. 

Dr. Eric Nicholson is the instrument scientist for MacSANS where he is responsible for scientific investigations using the beamline as well as maintenance and upkeep of the instrument. He has a background in both hard and soft condensed matter and will do his best to understand the structure of your system to make productive use of the MacSANS instrument. 

Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics and a Ph.D. in materials science both from the University of Toronto. He has contributed understanding to the irradiation accelerated degradation of CANDU fuel channel materials in Chalk River, Ontario as R&D Scientist at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and scattered neutrons at NRU as a DRSA RA/T. His doctoral work advised by Prof. JW Davis and Prof. CV Singh investigated the threshold displacement energy of irradiation damage by the mechanistic interpretation of materials characterizations of ion irradiation damaged materials using theoretical atomistic modelling. He has conducted characterization investigations of materials by neutron scattering and other techniques at the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, the Canadian Light Source and the National University of Singapore, publishing broadly on the structure of matter. 

Research Interests: Radiation damage to nuclear materials, fusion energy materials, structure of matter. 

Dr. Eric Nicholson is the instrument scientist for MacSANS where he is responsible for scientific investigations using the beamline as well as maintenance and upkeep of the instrument. He has a background in both hard and soft condensed matter and will do his best to understand the structure of your system to make productive use of the MacSANS instrument. 

Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics and a Ph.D. in materials science both from the University of Toronto. He has contributed understanding to the irradiation accelerated degradation of CANDU fuel channel materials in Chalk River, Ontario as R&D Scientist at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and scattered neutrons at NRU as a DRSA RA/T. His doctoral work advised by Prof. JW Davis and Prof. CV Singh investigated the threshold displacement energy of irradiation damage by the mechanistic interpretation of materials characterizations of ion irradiation damaged materials using theoretical atomistic modelling. He has conducted characterization investigations of materials by neutron scattering and other techniques at the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, the Canadian Light Source and the National University of Singapore, publishing broadly on the structure of matter. 

Developer  with 10+ years’ experience in full-stack development, system integration, and EPICS-based solutions. Skilled in .NET, C#, Python, React, and SQL. Passionate about building efficient, scalable software. 

Developer  with 10+ years’ experience in full-stack development, system integration, and EPICS-based solutions. Skilled in .NET, C#, Python, React, and SQL. Passionate about building efficient, scalable software. 

Jonathan Hai is a Distributed Control Systems Engineer supporting the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory’s instruments. With a background in mechatronics engineering, he develops and maintains control software for neutron diffraction and scattering experiments, with a focus on EPICS-based systems. His work bridges hardware integration and software reliability, ensuring researchers can conduct precise and reproducible experiments. Jonathan is passionate about creating intuitive, maintainable systems that empower scientific discovery. 

Jonathan Hai is a Distributed Control Systems Engineer supporting the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory’s instruments. With a background in mechatronics engineering, he develops and maintains control software for neutron diffraction and scattering experiments, with a focus on EPICS-based systems. His work bridges hardware integration and software reliability, ensuring researchers can conduct precise and reproducible experiments. Jonathan is passionate about creating intuitive, maintainable systems that empower scientific discovery.