NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (NRC-SIMS)

(Ottawa and Chalk River, Ontario)

The Small Things Are Key

The NRC-SIMS strives to be cutting-edge in molecular sciences, carefully selecting areas of research that will bring the results of discovery to bear on Canada's innovation system. NRC-SIMS favours interdisciplinary work with national and international partners. Its principal clients are universities, industry and other NRC institutes.

The mission for NRC-SIMS is to provide leadership in collaboration with national and international scientific communities for the development of a knowledge base in molecular science and to ensure that it positively impacts Canadians through proactive knowledge dissemination to partners.

These vials contain Quantum Dots, semiconductor nanocrystals referred to as artificial atoms, which are used as fluorescent biological labels for diagnostic purposes

The NRC-SIMS-Ottawa teams offer expertise in chemical synthesis, material characterizations, understanding the chemistry of biological processes, predicting material properties, and using femtosecond lasers in optics and telecommunications research applications.

With its research partners, NRC-SIMS helps develop innovative technologies across a wide spectrum including: therapeutics, diagnostics, advanced electronics, telecommunications, precision manufacturing, optoelectronics, information sciences, and advanced materials.

NRC-SIMS at Chalk River is the home of the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (NRC-CNBC). The NRU (National Research Universal) research reactor at Chalk River Laboratories is a major element of Canada's national infrastructure for science and industry. Neutrons can be used to explore materials of all kinds. NRC-CNBC acts as a custodian for the neutron research facilities, coordinating access for a wide range of academic and industrial users from across Canada and around the world. In-house R&D in strategic areas ensures that the neutron beam laboratory maintains a competitive stature in the global science community.

NRC-SIMS conducts cutting-edge research in selected areas of molecular sciences that have the potential to stimulate entirely new or emerging sectors of the Canadian economy. Strategic research fields include: functional materials, nanoscience, molecular spectroscopy, neutrons for materials research, theory and computation, molecular interfaces, organometallic chemistry, femtosecond science, chemical biology, and a variety of their related technologies. NRC-SIMS continues to move the frontiers of molecular science forward by remaining Canada's leading pioneer in the molecular scientific domain.