German, Canadian scientists to open quantum physics center

German and Canadian scientists on Monday announced plans to open an advanced research center on semiconductors, metals, magnetic materials and other aspects of quantum physics.

University of British Columbia in Vancouver will house the new research facility, the Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials, which is to be funded by Germany's prestigious Max Planck Society.

The funding agreement includes annual exchanges by more than two dozen professors and graduate students from Canada and Germany, a center news release said.

"The knowledge and discoveries generated from these collaborations will profoundly change the lives of present and future generations," said University of British Columbia President Stephen Toope.

The research center in this western Canadian city will be the third such center that the Max Planck Society funds outside Germany. Centers also exist in India and Spain; a fourth one is under construction in Florida.

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is an independent, non-profit research organization that mainly supports research at its own institutes.