Student in a white lab coat lights a cigarette off of a sphere shaped object; student at left observes.

Winter scenic of Physics Building.

Winter scenic - Physics Building.

Dr. Henry Kaplan with Physics students in Linear Accelerator.

Students working in a lab; view from front of classroom.

Faculty members of Physics, including Dr. Harold E. Johns, sitting in a classroom; two men wearing academic robes.

Bio/Historical Note: Harold Johns (1915-1998) was, perhaps, the most influential medical physicist in Canadian history. He was born in West China where his parents were educational missionaries. After the family returned to Canada in the mid 1920s Harold obtained an MA in Physics from McMaster University and a PhD from the University of Toronto. He worked first at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and then at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon (1945-1956), where he became interested in cancer treatment. He obtained a betatron for cancer treatment and then began the design and construction of one of the first cobalt-60 teletherapy units. Because of his pioneering work Cobalt-60 teletherapy became the gold standard for radiation therapy for many years and thousands of units were installed worldwide, helping countless patients. The work he and his students did on the physics of high energy photon beams was fundamental, and still forms the basis of most treatment planning systems in use today. In 1953 he published the first edition of “The Physics of Radiology” which became the leading textbook in its field for several decades. In 1956 Dr. Johns became Head of the Physics Division of the Ontario Cancer Institute and Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. For several years he studied the chemical processes that lead to radiation damage, and finally in the 1970s he turned his hand to x-ray imaging. All of his work was aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The University of Saskatchewan awarded Johns an honourary Doctor of Laws degree in 1959.

Winter scenic of Physics Building.

Winter scenic of Physics Building.

Physics Building south entrance.

Scientific equipment used in conjunction with Plasma Physics.

Students seated in desks listen to an instructor in tiered lecture theatre in Physics; instructor is standing at front. View from back of classroom looking towards instructor.

Bio/Historical Note: A proper addition to the Physics Building was finally completed in 1967 by W.C. Wells Construction for $2,029,876. The Physics Building Addition, designed by Kerr, Cullingworth, Riches and Associates, was initially meant to accommodate a student body of 8,000 for a cost of $750,000. However, the growing demands of the Department during the planning stages led to a drastic increase in the scope of the project. Upon completion the Addition added 36,000 square feet of accommodation to the existing 49,000 in the original Physics Building; the foundations and support columns of the Addition are also designed to support an additional two storeys to the building in future expansions. The basement of the Addition originally housed 20 undergraduate laboratories, each with a proposed capacity of 20 students, four advanced undergraduate labs specializing in Modern Physics, Electronics, Optics and 4th Year studies, and research laboratories for masters and doctoral candidates. As well, main machine, woodworking, students’ and electronic workshops were contained here, as was most of the office space. The building also contained two large lecture theatres and classroom space to accommodate 450 to 500 students. The Addition was restricted to two-storeys so as not to cast shadows on the Biology greenhouses to the north. The exterior of the building was sheathed in greystone, with Tyndall limestone used as window trim, door and window mullions, and as mirror wall panels. Grey slate was used in canopy facings, and in steps and the thresholds to entrances.

View looking northwest of the Physics Building; flowers and landscaping in foreground.

View looking northeast of completed Physics Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The Physics Building was constructed by Smith Bros. & Wilson General Contractors from 1919 to 1921 for $437,000, and was designed by D. R. Brown and H. Vallance. It was officially opened in 1922. The building originally housed the Departments of Physics, Botany and Zoology, the Plant-pathology section of the Dominion Department of Agriculture, as well as the soils branch of the Canadian Department of the Interior. The Physics Building possessed non-vibratory walls, laboratories for Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Electron Physics, wireless work, a number of smaller research rooms, a dark room and a large lecture theatre, which was quickly put to use by many different colleges. The attic of the building was used as a temporary museum, with meteorological recording equipment situated on the roof. The basement was fitted with offices and classrooms, as well as with two fireproofed rooms containing the Shortt Library of Canadiana.

View looking northwest of Physics Building nearing completion. Man standing next to automobile in foreground.

Bio/Historical Note: The Physics Building was constructed by Smith Bros. & Wilson General Contractors from 1919 to 1921 for $437,000, and was designed by D. R. Brown and H. Vallance. It was officially opened in 1922. The building originally housed the Departments of Physics, Botany and Zoology, the Plant-pathology section of the Dominion Department of Agriculture, as well as the soils branch of the Canadian Department of the Interior. The Physics Building possessed non-vibratory walls, laboratories for Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Electron Physics, wireless work, a number of smaller research rooms, a dark room and a large lecture theatre, which was quickly put to use by many different colleges. The attic of the building was used as a temporary museum, with meteorological recording equipment situated on the roof. The basement was fitted with offices and classrooms, as well as with two fireproofed rooms containing the Shortt Library of Canadiana.

Elevated view looking east with Physics Building at left. University buildings around the Bowl from l to r: Administration Building, Saskatchewan Hall, and Qu'Appelle Hall. Taken from roof of Chemistry Building.