Welcome to the virtual gateway of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics – a national research institute that serves the Canadian astrophysical community, fosters the growth and development of young researchers, and is at the forefront of the fast-changing landscape of astrophysics.

As the only national center for astrophysics in the world, CITA was designed to promote excellence in theoretical and observational astrophysics research by facilitating collaborations across the scientific community in Canada and internationally. Our researchers investigate questions from all of astronomy and astrophysics, ranging from the early universe and big bang cosmology to galaxy formation, high-energy phenomena such as black holes, pulsars and supernovae, gravitational waves, and planet formation.

At the Toronto flagship location, we are a cohesive group, housed on two floors of one building, where we meet daily to discuss hurdles, celebrate breakthroughs and share ideas. The recently built IdeaLab offers an inviting space for workshops and focus groups or simply running through the latest arXiv publications with colleagues over coffee. Many graduate students who work with CITA faculty and our excellent staff members add to the friendly atmosphere.

Every year CITA welcomes a cohort of new postdoctoral fellows and offers a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. With a year-round schedule of seminars by renowned scholars, regular blackboard talks, theory discussion groups and numerous social and recreational events, CITA Toronto takes pride in creating abundant opportunity for research collaborations and mentorship by the best in your chosen field. But more than that, it invites you to become a part of a diverse and accepting community of explorers.

At the national level, CITA provides financial support for CITA National Fellowships, support for conferences held in Canada, and runs a vibrant visitor program.

Standing on 40 years of success in research development and education, the institute has earned global recognition and reach. CITA is engaged with several large national and international projects, including SDSS-V, CHIME/CHORD, LIGO, Scintillometry, Herschel, Planck, and CCAT-p. Our research teams are involved from initial experimental design to the analysis and interpretation of resulting data. We also have long-standing partnerships with renowned institutions such as KITP, ASIAA, PI, CCA.

CITA has grown out of the enthusiasm of three faculty members and a few postdoctoral fellows to now having a faculty of eight, some thirty postdoctoral fellows in Toronto and at other Canadian universities, and nearly twenty graduate students. Such tremendous growth is one measure of the success of CITA.

Another measure is the achievements of its postdoctoral program. Currently, over 132 former scholars hold tenured or tenure-track positions around the world. Twenty-three of these are in Canada, illustrating our leadership here at home.

So, what is CITA? Simply put, it is a place to discover the universe and launch a great career!

Our passion for science and discovery cannot be sustained without the generous support of a wide range of organizations. CITA gratefully acknowledges support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the University of Toronto. Ultimately, the citizens of Canada make possible our continuing efforts to carry out fundamental research. We look forward to sharing new discoveries with you in the coming years!

 

Shantanu Basu,

Interim Director