Newswise — The Canadian Light Source (CLS) recently reached an important milestone in its operational life when Brian Bewer, a University of Saskatchewan (U of S) graduate student, made the 2000th research visit to Canada's synchrotron.
Bewer, who is working on a Ph.D. in physics with U of S Canada Research Chair Dean Chapman, crossed the 2000 mark while conducting experiments imaging prostate cancer on the BioMedical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) beamline. "This is an important milestone for the Canadian Light Source and our user community of academic and industrial scientists," says CLS Executive Director Josef Hormes. "It shows, in a very concrete way, that the CLS is a resource that is in demand and being used by researchers from Saskatchewan and around the world. I am not surprised that our 2000th user visit was made by a graduate student as they are the people that push science forward and make the most of the opportunity to use a facility like the CLS."
"Getting the opportunity to use the CLS is probably the most interesting combination of job and educational experience I've ever had," says Bewer. "The facility is outstanding, the people I get to work with are great and the work is really rewarding. The research is just too interesting to pass up."
Bewer was working on an on-going project with researchers from the U of S College of Medicine and Western College of Veterinary Medicine, led by veterinary professor Gregg Adams, to develop ways of imaging and treating prostate cancer using the synchrotron. At the time of his visit, Bewer was working on imaging a prostate specimen.
The fact that Bewer was the 2000th visitor was reported recently by CLS staff after reviewing 2009 visitor statistics. The first experiment conducted by a researcher visiting the CLS occurred in May, 2005. It is anticipated that the number of visits by researchers to the CLS will grow to 2000 annually once seven beamlines that are currently under construction and in the early stages of testing " such as BMIT " join the seven beamlines that are currently operational.
The Canadian Light Source is Canada's national centre for synchrotron research. Located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, the CLS is a powerful tool for academic and industrial research in a wide variety of areas including environmental science, natural resources and energy, health and life sciences, and information and communications technology. CLS operations are funded by the Government of Canada, NSERC, NRC, CIHR, the Government of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan. For more information: www.lightsource.ca/media/quickfacts.php
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