Five things to know about Saskatchewan's cyclotron and the Fedoruk Centre
Here are five things to know about the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation and its cyclotron, found on the U of S campus.
By Saskatoon Star PhoenixThis article was published to the Saskatoon Star Phoenix on September 20, 2024.
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The latest investment in nuclear research on the University of Saskatchewan campus will help continue more than a decade of world-renowned work, university and provincials officials say. Here are five things to know about the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation and its cyclotron…
1. The $400,000 investment announced on Thursday is in addition to $2.5 million budgeted for the Fedoruk Centre this year. Officials say the money will help advance nuclear energy, imaging, medicine and other sciences including small modular reactors, cancer screening and cancer treatment.
The non-profit Fedoruk Centre funds nuclear-related research projects, operates the cyclotron facility, acts as a resource on nuclear topics and more. The Fedoruk Centre also acts as a conduit to fund research projects in Saskatchewan and to oversee nuclear facilities at the U of S, including the cyclotron.
A cyclotron makes radioactive isotopes that can be used for medical imaging or research, by accelerating particles to rapid speeds and focusing them on a target.
2. Officials say the money will support as many as eight research projects led by Saskatchewan-based scientists.
The investment announced Thursday “will help researchers develop new, cutting-edge methods to address local and global challenges using innovative nuclear technologies,” U of S president Peter Stoicheff said.
3. Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan, said the money is one of the province’s “targeted investments that support the advancement of training opportunities for Saskatchewan researchers in nuclear science at our province’s world-class research institutions."
“This investment in the Fedoruk Centre will further strengthen and expand the province’s research capacity in nuclear innovation.”
4. Formally established in 2011 by the provincial government and the U of S, the Fedoruk Centre to date has granted more than $8 million to 50 nuclear research projects, particularly through infrastructure such as the cyclotron.
From the start, the Fedoruk Centre has aimed to empower Saskatchewan people to apply nuclear science and technologies to advance health care, food security, energy policy, material sciences and social sciences,” Fedoruk Centre executive director Dr. John Root said.
5. Dr. Sylvia Fedoruk is an iconic figure not just in Saskatchewan but Canada, and not just in the medical world but the sports community as well.
Fedoruk was a pioneer for her team’s treatment of cancer using cobalt-60 radiation therapy in the 1950s. Among her other notable accomplishments, she was the first female chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan, a member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, an officer of the Order of Canada, Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant-Governor from 1988-94, a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and was so accomplished that the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation was renamed the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation.Fedoruk, who died in 2012 at the age of 85, was also a national championship curler with Team Saskatchewan and a member of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame. She was an iconic U of S Huskies athlete who played basketball, volleyball, golf, hockey and track and field. She is a member of the Huskies’ Wall of Fame.