Nuclear physicist remembered as a pioneer
John Bergstrom was instrumental in creation of Canadian Light Source
Experimental nuclear physics is not a topic at the top of most Saskatoon residents’ minds, but for Dr. John Bergstrom its study encompassed his life work and helped put Saskatoon on the map as a major player in Canada’s scientific community.
Before his death on Nov. 29, Bergstrom was a fixture in the University of Saskatchewan Physics Department — first as a student earning his master’s in theoretical physics and later returning as a professor after completing doctoral studies at M.I.T. — and an instrumental force in the creation of the Canadian Light Source (CLS).
“He was a hell of a nuclear physicist,” said his brother Ron Bergstrom, who remembers him building an atom smasher in the family basement at 12 years old.
Bergstrom’s journey to the creation of the CLS began during his undergraduate years working on the creation of a Linear Accelerator (Linac). For many years the Linac remained as a major achievement for the department, but because technology never stands still, one member of the Linac team, Denis Skopic, suggested converting it into a synchrotron ring.
At the time, the federal government was seeking submissions to build a synchrotron, but it was almost unthinkable that a facility with such national importance would be located in Saskatoon. That didn’t seem to be a problem for the federal government, which approved the project just days before funding for the Linac project was cut.
Bergstrom’s first responsibility during the creation of Canada’s first and only synchrotron was to develop a camera able to take photos of the electron beams to confirm their stability. It worked like a charm, allowing the team to see light beam profiles flashing by at the speed of light.
His next tasks were creating a system that would allow electrons to enter the synchrotron ring in an orderly fashion — which he likened to “loading sheep from a ramp onto a speeding train” — and designing a system to stabilize those same beams as they entered the ring.
Even after his retirement, Bergstrom kept a desk at the CLS, working for the sake of passion rather than pay. Ron Bergstrom remembers the only thing that could match his passion for physics was his love of travel, which took him to 120 countries.
“We had a lot of fun back and forth, the two of us — no one else understood our sense of humour,” Ron said with a laugh. Parts of this article were edited and condensed from memories shared by Bergstrom before his death. epetrow@postmedia.com