D-Pace welcomed Ph.D. candidate Nicolas Savard in September 2017 and he joined our research group in Auckland, NZ in June 2018. Nicolas completed his Master's degree at the University of Victoria, based on research into plasma wakefield accelerators. Nicolas is undertaking his studies at The University of British Columbia with the Department of Physics and Astronomy, under the supervision of Dr. Reiner Kruecken. Now with scholarships from UBC and MITACS to help fund his research subject, Nicolas is utilizing D-Pace’s Ion Source Test Facility (ISTF), located at Buckley Systems in Auckland, to develop an He⁺⁺ ion source to produce high-current alpha beams for use in radionuclide production. The aim is to produce an ion source design able to supply commercial quantities of astatine 211, a short half-life radiohalogen with potential applications in radio-immunotherapy. Nicolas envisages the project and thesis taking another two to three years to complete and is taking advantage of working alongside the physicists conducting experiments on the ISTF and other research projects at Buckley Systems. 

D-Pace is excited to have Nicolas Savard as part of our research group!

Information on the Ion Source Test Facility (ISTF) can be found here.