Astronomical instrumentation and observational studies of supernova remnants and massive stars

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My primary research plan is to build a new instrument, specifically a new infrared spectrograph, which I will use on some of world's largest telescopes. New discoveries in astronomy are ever dependent on the capabilities of new instruments; therefore, building a new instrument is a fundamental and essential step for enhancing our understanding of the universe. It is also imperative to train students with this instrument program, which will greatly benefit the future of the Canadian astronomical community. In this instrumentation program, students will learn how to design and implement various components of a novel infrared spectrograph as part of their PhD thesis. This instrumentation program will be performed using the new laboratorial infrastructure that we recently established at the University of Toronto for modern astronomical instrumentation. In addition to this instrument program, I also plan to conduct observational studies of supernova remnants and massive stars using various facilities, including satellites in space and eventually the instruments that I built. A supernova remnant is the remains of a supernova explosion which is probably a single most spectacular event in the universe generated by the death of a massive star. By studying the supernova remnants and massive stars, I try to answer the following questions: [1] how do supernovae explode? [2] How are the evolutions of massive stars and consequent supernova explosions connected? [3] How are the evolutions of massive stars and the physics of supernova explosions are connected to the formation of black holes or neutron stars? [4] What is the role of mass loss in the evolution of massive stars? These are difficult questions to answer, but they are fascinating questions to address. Hopefully, based on the funding that I request in this proposal, I can give useful answers to the above questions in a few years.