McGill, University of Montreal receive $26 million for space studies
Since he was a young boy, Lorne Trottier has been fascinated with space, science and technology.
"It tries to answer some of the deepest mysteries of humanity," the Montreal engineer and philanthropist said. "Where did we come from? How did the universe come to be? Is there life out there?"
A donation to two university space programs could potentially one day answer those questions.
The Trottier Family Foundation announced Monday it will donate $26 million to McGill University and the University of Montreal.
McGill's space institute will receive $16 million. Half of the money will be used to build a new annex to the program's existing building.
"It's going to encourage discussions, it's going to encourage synergy, interaction," Victoria Kaspi, director of the Trottier Institute for Space at McGill. "We'll be able to invite visitors from around the world to come here to Montreal to participate and work with us."
A total of $10 million will go to University of Montreal's Institute for Research on Exoplanets.
"Our mission is to find life elsewhere in the universe and that takes time," Rene Doyon, director of the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets, said. "It may be in a few decades that this discovery will happen."
Both schools have decided to honour the Trottier family by changing their program names.
Going forward. it will now be called the Trottier Space Institute at McGill and the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the University of Montreal.
"It strengthens the bonds that already exists between the two universities," Simon Guichandut, a McGill PhD student, said. "Definitely it puts Montreal on the map, if it wasn't already, in terms of astronomy."
Both universities were involved in the launch of the James Webb space telescope. The most technologically advanced scientific instrument ever launched into space.
"We can call it a golden age and there’s new facilities also on the ground that work in synergy with James Webb," Doyon said. "It's a good time to be a graduate student these days, they have access to these incredible facilities."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.