Industrial and academic researchers gearing up for Canada’s first synchrotron

Canadian Light Source

Canada is about to add a new member to its suite of national research facilities with the official opening of the Canadian Light Source (CLS). As one of the few industrialized nations currently without a synchrotron, Canada will soon be able to provide researchers in all sectors with the ability to examine a diverse array of materials at the molecular level, without facing long lead times to utilize foreign facilities.

The CLS is one of 40 synchrotrons worldwide and among the handful of so-called third generation synchrotrons that generate a far brighter light than previous incarnations. The academic community will comprise the majority of the CLS’s initial users, with industrial participation increasing over time as the beamlines are refined.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is the single largest funding source for the $173.5-million CLS, which has endured a long gestation due to unwieldy funding arrangements, complex construction demands and lengthy waits for specialized equipment (see page 3). When it officially opens October 22 at the Univ of Saskatchewan, just one of the seven initial beamlines will be operational, although all are expected to come on line by next summer.

Operational funding has also posed a difficult challenge which was resolved in the short term earlier this year with a $19-million infusion from the federal government to cover the first five years of operation. The funds will be secured from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) ($16 million) and Western Economic Diversification ($3 million), although Treasury Board approval is still pending.

CLS executive director Dr Bill Thomlinson says federal support for operating funds overcomes a major hurdle and clears the way for researchers from all sectors to exploit the facility’s unique capabilities. Thomlinson estimates that there are between 100 and 200 academic researchers who will be among the first to use the CLS — a group he terms as ‘friendly users’.

“They will help us get the beamlines up and running over a six-month period. After that you will really start to see their industrial colleagues showing up,” he says. “The first industrial users will be those that collaborate with academic partners and then those seeking fee access. We’re already doing work for industrial customers but using offshore facilities. They will now be able to work in Canada with us.”

One of the most distinguishing features of the CLS is its emphasis on industrial usage. It’s projected that industry will eventually account for 20-35% of CLS beamtime, which will translate into approximately $5 million in annual operating income. That’s a far higher percentage than any other synchrotron, according to Dr Jeff Cutler, acting co-director of applied research.

“We’re pushing the frontier in this area. The CLS is the first synchrotron from day one that said we want to work with industry. Most synchrotrons are highly academically driven,” says Cutler.

CLS officials are initially focusing on industries that have regional strengths, namely the mining and emerging environmental technologies sectors. Two companies that have already collaborated with Univ of Saskatchewan researchers are COGEMA Resources Inc and Cameco Corp, two large uranium producers. Both firms are interested in finding out more about the nature of arsenic, which is often found alongside minerals like uranium, gold, cobalt and nickel. The CLS recently received a federal environmental technology verification certificate that recognizes the synchrotron’s value in arsenic testing via x-ray absorption spectroscopy.

“The certificate allows industry to see what we can do and how it relates to their activity and problems they need to fund,” says Cutler. “Many mines have hundreds of tonnes of mine waste lying around but what do they do with it when they leave an area. How do you turn the sites back into green field ... The CLS is an enabling technology for the characterization of minerals. We want to grow the community and let it be our home run.”

CLS ATTRACTING RESEARCHERS WORLDWIDE

The CLS has had a dramatic impact on the Saskatoon’s research landscape since it was first announced that the CFI would provide leveraged core funding in 1999. At that time, there were just four academic researchers conducting research that required a synchrotron.

Now there are more than 60, including Drs Ingrid Pickering and Graham George, British researchers most recently with Stanford Univ’s Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory.

Pickering and George were recruited to the Univ of Saskatchewan’s department of geological sciences and awarded two Canada Research Chairs positions.

Both are involved in the examination of mercury build up in fish and Pickering says her research extends to examining the characteristics of plants that have the ability to absorb metal and metaloids from soil and water. She asserts that the CLS and funding package offered by the university made the move from California to Saskatoon irresistible.

“The CLS offers an extremely bright, versatile source of x-rays and our beamline will be the largest of its type anywhere in the world,” says Pickering. “We still go back to California to use the Stanford beamlines but our intention is to do our research at the CLS once the beamline is operational. It will be fabulous when we don’t have to travel.”

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