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News Release Communique FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, March. 8th 2004 CFI Awards $18 Million to Help Fund Canadian Light Source BeamlinesSynchrotron science across Canada received a major boost today with the announcement that the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) will provide a total of $18 million for five beamlines and equipment at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) on the University of Saskatchewan campus. The new beamlines (conduits for carrying synchrotron light to experiment stations) will be used for projects that include exploring radically improved medical imaging techniques, detecting trace elements in ore samples, and developing new weapons against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The $173.5-illion CLS is expected to open for business later this year. “We’re excited to be able to offer these powerful new research tools to more than 400 Canadian scientists and their graduate students,” says CLS Executive-Director Bill Thomlinson. “Our congratulations go out to our researchers here at the U of S, as well as the teams from the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia who will be leading beamline projects.” CFI will provide up to 40 per cent of the total $44.5 million in funding for the beamline projects, with the balance to be made up from other partners. Operating costs will be covered by CFI and the CLS operating budget. “We can say with conviction that Canada is becoming a place where world-class researchers want to be,” said CFI President and CEO David Strangway. “This CFI investment will further develop Canada’s global reputation as a place where outstanding research and training is being conducted.” “The Government of Canada created the CFI for days like today. These projects illustrate how Canadians from across our country work together to push the leading edge of research and development,” said Ralph Goodale, federal Minister of Finance and MP for Wascana. “It is equally important to recognize that leading-edge research and development happens right here in Saskatchewan.” “This major CFI investment is drawing attention from across Canada and the international research community,” said U of S President Peter MacKinnon. “Momentum from the Canadian Light Source project continues to build.” The new beamlines will bring the total count to 12. The CLS synchrotron, Canada’s first, is designed to accommodate about 30 beamlines at full capacity. First light was detected in the synchrotron’s diagnostic beamline on December 9, 2003. Five of the seven Phase I experimental beamlines are scheduled for completion in spring of 2004, with the remaining two slated to come online in the summer and fall. The Phase II beamlines approved in this round of funding will be built in the next several years:
Synchrotron light – millions of times brighter than sunlight – is used to view chemical reactions and the micro-structure of materials, paving the way for new drugs, more powerful computer chips, better engine lubricants, more effective medical imaging and a host of other applications for science and industry. At the U of S, there are more than 70 scientists who use a synchrotron in their work – up from a handful when the synchrotron got the green light in March of 1999. The project enjoys the endorsement of 27 universities across the country. The U of S-owned national facility is one of Canada’s largest science projects in a generation. The design is one of the most efficient, compact, and most advanced in the world. CLS funding partners include the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian government (including Western Economic Diversification, Natural Resources Canada, the National Research Council, NSERC, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research), Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, Ontario Innovation Trust, Alberta Innovation and Science, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, U of S, the City of Saskatoon, SaskPower, and Boehringer Ingelheim, University of Western Ontario, and University of Alberta. GlaxoSmithKline has also provided funding for a U of S chair in an area of synchrotron science. For more information on the CLS, visit: www.lightsource.ca. Note to Editors: Photos, other images and a backgrounder on the CLS are available upon request. For more information, contact: Dr. Bill Thomlinson Michael Robin Marcia Steyaert Hilary Thomson Last modified: 2008-07-29 14:07:32 |
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