John Root
John Root
John Root received his PhD from the University of Guelph in 1986, after developing a way to measure quantum effects in the structure of water and other liquids. He joined Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), where he helped to develop a method to map stresses inside materials using a beam of neutrons from the NRU reactor at Chalk River Laboratories. This method has been copied at neutron-beam laboratories around the world, and is now applied to help industries improve their products, and expand their businesses. In 2003, Dr. Root was appointed Director of the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC), which was comprised of six neutron spectrometers, supported by a team of expert researchers and technicians, and managed as an international user facility. By the time the NRU reactor was closed, in 2018, the CNBC was supporting a community of more than 800 research participants from more than 20 universities across Canada and over 100 foreign institutions. CNBC users generated knowledge of materials at the molecular and nano-scale, for applications such as transportation safety, manufacturing competitiveness, lifetime management of infrastructure, market development, fundamental scientific understanding and education. More information is available here.
In 2011, Dr. Root established the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, a not-for-profit corporation with the purpose of placing Saskatchewan among global leaders of nuclear research, development and training through investment in partnerships with universities and industries for maximum societal and economic benefit. Since 2017, Dr. Root has served as Executive Director of the Fedoruk Centre, building capacity for contributions in three target areas:
- Nuclear imaging tools and methods to advance life sciences, agri-biotechnologies and medicine;
- Material sciences, through neutron scattering, to improve energy, health, and transportation; and
- Understanding the practical and social aspects of nuclear energy, to inform decision-making towards a clean, sustainable future.
Recommended websites: www.fedorukcentre.ca, www.neutrons.ca
