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Year 2000

Structural Sciences Centre gets $3.72m shot-in-arm from gov’ts.

The planned U of S Structural Sciences Centre, to be built as part of the Thorvaldson Building renovation, got a major shot in the arm Jan. 13, when federal and provincial government representatives visited campus to announce an additional $3.72 million in funding for the project.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale and Saskatchewan Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Janice MacKinnon joined U of S Pres. Peter MacKinnon at a news conference in the Geology Building atrium to tell gathered reporters and officials about the new government money.

The Structural Sciences Centre was initially announced last spring at the announcement of the go-ahead for the Canadian Light Source synchrotron project.

At that time it was noted the SSC will be an excellent complement to the CLS, since it will allow for tests on the structure of matter, and for preliminary and follow-up research for experiments conducted at the synchrotron.

On top of the initial Canada Foundation for Innovation funding of $1,87 million for the Centre, the U of S decided some time ago to add $5.85 million.

Now, the provincial and federal governments have added $3.72 million through the Canada/Saskatchewan Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA) – making the project total about $11.45 million.

Goodale and Janice MacKinnon said the new money is earmarked for capital equipment like state of the art x-ray equipment, lasers, microscopes, and a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometer. The U of S is the only large university in Canada without a high-field NMR Spectrometer, though the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute on campus has a less-powerful model NMR.

All three officials at the news conference praised what the Structural Sciences Centre will do for the U of S, and for research in Saskatchewan and Canada.

Peter MacKinnon said it will create new technical positions, and it will keep 40 faculty, 150 graduate students, and 40 post-doctoral research associates busy, in fields like cancer research, biotechnology, soil science, geochemistry, and electrical engineering.

"It will foster a nationally competitive group of scientists at U of S," he said.

Janice MacKinnon said the SSC is "a perfect fit" with the synchrotron. "I look forward to many research breakthroughs from the U of S and the research community," she said.

And Goodale said, "What we’re building here is a critical mass, a synergy. We’re putting together the right conditions to attract and retain top researchers to the U of S."

The WEPA money will allow for purchase of:

• the NMR Spectrometer and x-ray crystallographic for determining the structures of large molecules, such as proteins.

• instruments for characterizing macromolecular interacts, including a biosensor, microcalorimeter, and dynamic light scattering apparatus.

• instruments for determining the structures of surfaces and interfaces, including an atomic-force microscope and a scanning-tunnelling microscope; and,

• lasers, for use in constructing a number of specialized instruments for examining the structures and dynamics of moieties of molecular size, which are part of large assemblies such as supramolecular systems, clusters, micelles, interfaces and other structures.

U of S Pres. Peter MacKinnon talks to reporters after Jan. 13 announcement of more money for the Structural Sciences Centre.

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