View of exterior of the Hangar Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The Hangar Building was originally constructed as a World War II Royal Canadian Air Force training facility at Dafoe, Saskatchewan. At a cost of $156,560, the hangar was dismantled and completely reassembled on campus by January 1947. It was intended to provide temporary teaching space for the Department of Household Science. The shingle clad wooden structure was built of post and beam construction on a concrete slab base, and many part-time students participated in its construction. It contained lecture rooms with seating space for 300, 200, 150, 125, 25 and 25 persons respectively, as well as three laboratories. Eight offices were also built for administrative staff so that offices on the ground floors of Qu’Appelle Hall and Saskatchewan Hall could be made available as residence space for returning veterans. While the Hangar Building had been designed to house the Department of Household Science the building was eventually occupied by the College of Commerce, while Household Science was relocated to the Physics Annex. Original intentions were to convert the building into a student curling rink after approximately five years. However such plans were abandoned by the mid-1950s in favour of a new curling facility located near Rutherford Rink, where it could share the existing ice-making plant. In 1967 the College of Commerce vacated the building to occupy the new Law-Commerce Complex, and the Department of Drama moved in. The Hangar Building thus became home to the Greystone Theatre. In September 1993 the Drama Department vacated the building to move into the recently renovated John Mitchell Building. The Hangar Building then remained unoccupied until its demolition in May 1994.

Two technicians at work in the control room.

Bio/Historical Note: The building of the Linear Accelerator (Linac) was not a random event but rather the result of a series of developments on campus. The Department of Physics had over the previous decades built a reputation for experimentation and innovation. The post-war period saw the University of Saskatchewan in the forefront of nuclear physics in Canada. In 1948, Canada’s first betatron (and the world’s first used in the treatment of cancer) was installed on campus. It was used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. Next the world’s first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the treatment of cancer was officially opened in 1951. With this unit research was undertaken in the areas of radiological physics, radiation chemistry and the effects of high energy radiation on plants and animals. When the construction of the Linear Accelerator was announced in the fall of 1961, it was portrayed as the next logical step on the University’s research path. Varian Associates, Palo Alto, California, designed and built the accelerator with Poole Construction of Saskatoon employed as the general contractor. The 80 foot electron accelerator tube was to create energy six times that of the betatron. The cost of the $1,750,000 facility was split between the National Research Council and the University of Saskatchewan with the NRC meeting the cost of the equipment and the University assuming the costs of the building. The official opening in early November of 1964 was more than just a few speeches and the cutting of a ribbon. It was a physics-fest, with 75 visiting scientist from around the world in attendance presenting papers and giving lectures over the period of several days. Three eminent physicists were granted honorary degrees at the fall convocation and hundreds of people showed up for the public open house. For three decades the Linac has served the campus research community and will continue to do so as it has become incorporated into the Canadian Light Source synchrotron.

A technician stands beside the Linear Accelerator.

Bio/Historical Note: The building of the Linear Accelerator (Linac) was not a random event but rather the result of a series of developments on campus. The Department of Physics had over the previous decades built a reputation for experimentation and innovation. The post-war period saw the University of Saskatchewan in the forefront of nuclear physics in Canada. In 1948, Canada’s first betatron (and the world’s first used in the treatment of cancer) was installed on campus. It was used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. Next the world’s first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the treatment of cancer was officially opened in 1951. With this unit research was undertaken in the areas of radiological physics, radiation chemistry and the effects of high energy radiation on plants and animals. When the construction of the Linear Accelerator was announced in the fall of 1961, it was portrayed as the next logical step on the University’s research path. Varian Associates, Palo Alto, California, designed and built the accelerator with Poole Construction of Saskatoon employed as the general contractor. The 80 foot electron accelerator tube was to create energy six times that of the betatron. The cost of the $1,750,000 facility was split between the National Research Council and the University of Saskatchewan with the NRC meeting the cost of the equipment and the University assuming the costs of the building. The official opening in early November of 1964 was more than just a few speeches and the cutting of a ribbon. It was a physics-fest, with 75 visiting scientist from around the world in attendance presenting papers and giving lectures over the period of several days. Three eminent physicists were granted honorary degrees at the fall convocation and hundreds of people showed up for the public open house. For three decades the Linac has served the campus research community and will continue to do so as it has become incorporated into the Canadian Light Source synchrotron.

A line of people walk on a campus sidewalk passed the Field Husbandry (later Crop Science, Archaeology) during a blizzard. The Engineering Building can be seen in the background but is obscured by blowing snow.

Note that the main building in this photo had been misidentified as the Physics Building, and updated in May 2024.

Dr. Wolfgang K.H. Panofsky, honourary Doctor of Science degree recipient, awaits presentation at fall Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, University Registrar, stands in background.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky was born in 1919 in Berlin, Germany. He spent much of his early life in Hamburg, where his father was a professor of Art History. At age 15 he moved with his family to the United States and entered Princeton University. In 1938 Dr. Panofsky graduated with an AB In physics from Princeton after completing a senior thesis titled "The construction of a high pressure ionisation chamber", under the supervision of Walker Bleakney. He then received his PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1942. In April 1942 Dr. Panofsky was naturalized as a U.S. citizen. From 1945-1951 he held an assistant and then associate professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, before permanently establishing himself as Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Between 1961-1984 he was the director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and continued to serve as director emeritus. Dr. Panofsky was also on the Board of Directors of the Arms Control Association from 1996 until 1999 and remained a director emeritus until his death. Dr. Panosky was awarded an earned Doctor of Science degree from the U of S in 1964. He was a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the Franklin Medal (1970), the Ernest O. Lawrence Medal, the Leo Szilard Award and the Enrico Fermi Award. Dr. Panofsky died in 2007 in Palo Alto, California, at age 88.

Elevated view looking east of a snow-covered campus, taken from the Arts Tower. Looking across the Bowl at buildings (l to r): Physics Building, Administration Building, Saskatchewan Hall, Qu'Appelle Hall, Marquis Hall, and north wing of Murray Memorial (Main) Library.

Elevated view looking east across the Bowl at buildings (l to r): Thorvaldson, Physics, Biology, and Administration. Murray Memorial (Main) Library at far right.

Image of the betatron control panels.

Bio/Historical Note: In May 1948 Dr. Harold E. Johns, Dr. Newton Haslam, and Dr. Leon Katz, professors of Physics at the University of Saskatchewan, travelled to Milwaukee to inspect the betatron that had been built for the U of S. In August of that same year, the U of S installed in the Physics Annex the first betatron in Canada—the world’s first betatron used for a cancer treatment program. Dr. Johns then began the design and construction of one of the first cobalt-60 teletherapy units. Dr. Johns and his graduate students became the first researchers in the world to successfully treat a cancer patient using cobalt-60 radiation therapy. It was also used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. In 1951 the world’s first calibrated Cobalt-60 cancer therapy unit was installed at University Hospital (G Wing). The calibration work was done by Dr. Sylvia Fedoruk through rigorous depth dose measurements. In early 1952, Maclean's magazine had dubbed the cobalt-source radiotherapy machine the cobalt bomb - a tongue-in-cheek tribute to this peaceful use of nuclear technology. Dr. Johns’ pioneering work in cobalt-60 teletherapy became the gold standard for radiation therapy for many years and thousands of units were installed worldwide, helping countless patients. The original treatment device was used in Saskatchewan until 1972. The work Dr. Johns and his team did on the physics of high energy photon beams was fundamental, and still forms the basis of most treatment planning systems in use today.

Image of the betatron.

Bio/Historical Note: In May 1948 Dr. Harold E. Johns, Dr. Newton Haslam, and Dr. Leon Katz, professors of Physics at the University of Saskatchewan, travelled to Milwaukee to inspect the betatron that had been built for the U of S. In August of that same year, the U of S installed in the Physics Annex the first betatron in Canada—the world’s first betatron used for a cancer treatment program. Dr. Johns then began the design and construction of one of the first cobalt-60 teletherapy units. Dr. Johns and his graduate students became the first researchers in the world to successfully treat a cancer patient using cobalt-60 radiation therapy. It was also used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. In 1951 the world’s first calibrated Cobalt-60 cancer therapy unit was installed at University Hospital (G Wing). The calibration work was done by Dr. Sylvia Fedoruk through rigorous depth dose measurements. In early 1952, Maclean's magazine had dubbed the cobalt-source radiotherapy machine the cobalt bomb - a tongue-in-cheek tribute to this peaceful use of nuclear technology. Dr. Johns’ pioneering work in cobalt-60 teletherapy became the gold standard for radiation therapy for many years and thousands of units were installed worldwide, helping countless patients. The original treatment device was used in Saskatchewan until 1972. The work Dr. Johns and his team did on the physics of high energy photon beams was fundamental, and still forms the basis of most treatment planning systems in use today.

View from northwest across the Bowl with buildings (l to r): Thorvaldson, Biology, Physics and Administration. Students walking on grass in foreground.

Looking west across the Bowl from the Administration Building at campus buildings (l to r): North wing of Murray Memorial (Main) Library, Arts Building, Chemistry, and Physics buildings, The 46th Battalion C.E.F. Memorial Stone visible at far right.

Aerial view showing construction of the Physics addition, with a partial view of the Bowl and Administration Building.

Elevated view looking west along the edge of the Bowl at students walk on pathways; Physics and Chemistry buildings at right.

Animals grazing on the campus grounds with Chemistry and Physics buildings in background.

Princess Elizabeth chats with F. Hedley Auld, University Chancellor, and W.P. Thompson, University President, and other dignitaries in front of the Administration Building. Crowd of onlookers and Physics Building in background.