Saskatoon is not only the place of sun and light, it is one of the places where the history of nuclear sciences was written and continues through our days. 

As Canada welcomed Rutherford at the beginning of 20^th Century, the catalysis continued and moved all the way to Saskatchewan.  Already in 1931, Harrington  of Physics Department started a Radon plant and brought Harold Johns to the University of Saskatchewan.  Johns was the driving force of a betatron  and a  60-Co radiation therapy as early as 1951, helped by Jack Cunningham and Sylvia Fedoruk, resulting  in the establishment of Saskatoon Cancer clinic, which  was later amalgamated with Allan Blair Cancer Centre of Regina to become Saskatchewan.

Today, each Cancer Centre has three high energy medical linear accelerators operating at photon energies of between 6 MV and 15 MV as well as electron energies of between 6 MeV and 20 MeV. The medical physics team supports clinical Cancer care and is involved in research initiatives related to novel Brachytherapy treatment techniques and spatially fractioned external beam radiotherapy. In 1964, the Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory (SAL) was established for nuclear physics research. The linear accelerator of that facility now serves as the injector of the 2.9 GeV electron synchrotron, the heart of the Canadian Light Source, the only facility of its kind in Canada.  

Medical imaging and radiation therapy also evolved, and the latest is the establishment of Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation. In 2015 a TR-24 cyclotron was commissioned, and the Saskatchewan Centre for Cyclotron Sciences (SCCS) established. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, radiochemistry laboratories and imaging suites.  The newly established Innovation Wing (2019) accommodates imaging capabilities for preclinical studies as well as for plants.

We take current and future health and safety protocols very seriously. Saskatoon will continue to follow all guidelines and adapt to the “better normal” so our local community and visitors feel safe to meet, engage, and explore.  

Find more information about Saskatoon CommUNITY Commitment in the button below.