Spring Convocation - Students - University of Saskatchewan

A pioneer in nuclear physics research
In 1999, the University of Saskatchewan learned it would be home to the largest scientific project ever undertaken in Canada: the
Canadian Light Source (CLS). The announcement generated a great deal of excitement about the University’s future as a world leader in
research and synchrotron science. But it is important to note that the building of the CLS and the selection of our campus as its home
were not random events, but the result of a series of historic developments on campus.
The Department of Physics early on had built for itself a
reputation based upon experimentation and innovation.
The post-war period saw the U of S in the forefront of
nuclear physics in Canada.
In 1948, Canada’s first betatron (and the world’s first used
in the treatment of cancer) was installed on campus. It was
used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation
chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. Next the
world’s first non‐commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the
treatment of cancer was officially opened in 1951.
With this unit research was undertaken in the areas of
radiological physics, radiation chemistry and the effects of
high energy radiation on plants and animals.
When the construction of the Linear Accelerator (Linac)
was announced in the fall of 1961, it was portrayed as the
next logical step on the University’s research path. The
80-foot electron accelerator tube was to create energy six
times that of the betatron.
Open House at the Linear Accelerator on campus, Nov. 8, 1964. A-8643
The cost of the $1,750,000 Linac facility was split between
the National Research Council and the University of
Saskatchewan, with the NRC meeting the cost of the
equipment and the University assuming the costs of the
building.
The official opening in early November of 1964 was more
than just a few speeches and the cutting of a ribbon. It was
a physics‐fest, with 75 visiting scientist from around the
world in attendance presenting papers and giving lectures
over the period of several days. Three eminent physicists
were granted honorary degrees at the Fall Convocation and
hundreds of people showed up for the public open house.
Patrick Hayes
University of Saskatchewan Archives
The staff of Canadian Light Source Inc. on the experimental hall floor,
February 2006. Photo courtesy Canadian Light Source Inc., University of Saskatchewan.