A principal hiring objective is to build an internationally recognized new group focussed on ``Origins,'' coupling the areas of Star Formation, Extrasolar Planetary Systems, and Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium (includes the blossoming fields Astrobiology, Astrochemistry, and the Intergalactic Medium), and complementing the traditional research strength of DA in stellar astronomy. Star formation, out of interstellar matter, links a wide range of problems. Intrinsically it appears to be self-regulating in the Milky Way, leading to an intriguing study of Galactic ecology. It appears to involve planet formation (and comets) as a by-product, an issue of interest to everybody. The detailed study of star formation processes has much to offer cosmology, which studies star formation in a global context in distant galaxies. This research area therefore has considerable contact with intellectual and technical resources already in DA and CITA. Martin and Murray (in CITA) do some of their theoretical work directly in this area and Netterfield has considerable expertise in the short-wavelength radio technology that is used in JCMT and will be used in ALMA. Star formation research is naturally closely connected to stellar astrophysics in general which remains as the historical strength of DA. Furthermore, there is considerable technical overlap for all these researchers since they will conduct much of their research on precisely the same telescopes, looking at related phenomena in different contexts. As noted in the five-year review of DA, CITA cannot be expected to cover all fields of A&A equally and thus mount a comprehensive theoretical graduate program, and so we will be looking for candidates with theoretical expertise too.
This new group would help us guide Canadian efforts effectively, train a new generation of future faculty, help meet the tremendous undergraduate and public interest in these areas, and of course perform first rate research. We note that DA is collaborating with other departments in the undergraduate Planetary Sciences Specialist Program (§ 2.2.1). We expect this group to be the major force in Canada in this new field, and given the positive conditions in DA within the University of Toronto, to be highly competitive on the world scene.